Production: Adriana Toca
The Arctic registers its highest temperature. According to the UN body for Climate Change (UNFCCC), Verkhoyansk, in Siberia, within the Arctic Circle, reached more than 38 ° C on Saturday, 17 ° C above the normal temperature for June 20. The elevated temperatures in Siberia begin to melt the permafrost.
Scottish meteorologist Scott Duncan (@ScottDuncanWX) posts the data on his Twitter account, explaining that this is not just happening just north of Russia, but across the Arctic Circle: “Let’s go to Canada and take a look. Temperatures above 30 ° C extend north of the Arctic Circle line, north of the semi-frozen Hudson Bay. The islands of Nunavut and the Northwest Territories will heat up even more ”.
These data are indicators that global warming is accelerating, and some parts of the world are warming much faster than others. The average temperature in Russia, from January to May, reflects what was expected to be normal for the year 2100. These extreme changes are due in part to natural weather patterns and man-made climate change. Scientists warn that the only way to curb the impact of climate change is to stop burning fossil fuels, in what the UNFCCC has called “a race for survival.”
A black future for the Arctic
The projections for the future of the Arctic are really bleak. In April, a study was released that predicted that the Arctic will run out of ice during the summer by 2050. Every summer, the Arctic ice experiences a retreat due to the increase in temperatures typical of the hot season. But by the middle of the century, experts estimate that in summer there will be no ice in the Arctic, with the catastrophic consequences that this entails. Thawing can lead to the destruction of ecosystems, the extinction of species that depend on ice, a rise in sea level (which could compromise the habitability of many coastal cities and, in turn, put their ecosystems at risk) and a drop in salinity. in the water due to the melting of fresh water, which will also significantly affect marine ecosystems.
All this in a pessimistic emissions scenario. Only a truly relevant decrease in greenhouse gas emissions, caused by the burning of fossil fuels, can mitigate the catastrophic consequences.
