A six-month stretch of record-setting heat in Greenland is being held up as the latest sign that Northern regions are being walloped by the effects of global warming.
Starting in March and continuing through August, the DMI, the Danish met, which operates 14 weather stations throughout Greenland, "recorded a lot of warm weather," according to John Cappelen, a climatologist.
The stretch of warm weather saw temperatures rise above freezing in March, nearly resulting in an absence of snow for the Arctic Winter Games in Nuuk.
By the end of April, DMI had collected what Cappelin described as a "remarkable list of records." At that time, the highest average April temperature ever measured was recorded at nine weather stations. Four stations recorded the the highest April temperature ever for the site.
On the ice cap, Camp Summit, a research station, recorded a high temperature of minus 25.3 degrees Celsius in April, compared with an average of minus 32.5 degrees for the 10-year period beginning in 2006. The excessive heat saw such a massive, early onset of the ice cap's annual melting season that DMI scientists were initially "incredulous" their measurements were correct.
They were.
And with abnormal temperatures continuing through the summer, three stations, Narsarsuaq, in the south, and Danmarkshavn, in the north-east, and Tasiilaq, on the eastern coast, all ended the June-August period with the highest average temperature on the books. In Tasiilaq, the summer average of 8.2 degrees Celsius was the highest since record keeping began there in 1895, and exceeded the 1981-2010 average by 2.3 degrees.
Jason Box, a research professor with Geus, the geological survey of Denmark and Greenland, described the measurements as unsurprising, but said they added "robust evidence that the Arctic warming trend is continuing."
In a statement, Box predicted that the warmer temperatures will contribute to the continued loss of glacial ice. In addition to causing rising seas, the melting will result in the introduction of colder water to the ocean, which is likely to result in more powerful storms in the North Atlantic and changes to the fishing industry.
The summer is ending, but the discontent goes on.
This story was first published by The Arctic Journal and is republished here by permission.