It’s now or never – IPCC 6th Assessment Report released today

Today the final synthesis of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)’s 6th Assessment Report cycle was released. This synthesis report restates that it is "now or never" to act, and that we are well on... READ MORE

Arctic sea ice maximum extent likely 5th lowest on record

Arctic sea ice has likely reached its maximum extent for the year, at 14.62 million square kilometres (5.64 million square miles) on March 6, according to scientists at the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) at... READ MORE

Record-breaking cyclone brings further decimation to world’s #1 climate vulnerable country

Tropical cyclone Freddy is set to make more international records--including possibly one for the longest-lasting storm, later this... READ MORE

Flip-flops in Greenland?

We've been following a warming spell in Greenland for a while and it has only gotten worse with significant repercussions for the entire... READ MORE

Can you kayak around Svalbard? In March?

We’re rapidly approaching the sea ice maximum for the Arctic Ocean, and yet, it’s almost possible to kayak around... READ MORE

COUNTDOWN

CO2 Budget Depletion

ARCTIC BREAKDOWN IS A RISK MULTIPLIER FOR CLIMATE CHANGE

Arctic Sea Ice
Greenland
Arctic Land
Global Risks

THE RISK

ARCTIC WARMING CAN CAUSES EXTREME WEATHER ACROSS THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE. The catastrophic and costly storms, heat waves and other extreme weather hammering the world’s cities and regions have been linked to changes in the rapidly warming Arctic. Between 2010 and 2019, record-breaking storms, floods, and other natural disasters were the costliest in modern history with losses totaling US$2.98 trillion.

SEE THE DATA

SOME OF THE WORLD’S MOST POPULATED PLACES ARE ON THE SHORES OF RISING OCEANS. Seas are rising faster now than over any century in the past 3,000 years. Coastline flooding of low-lying cities and regions as well as devastating coastal erosion will worsen and happen more often in the decades ahead.

SEE THE DATA

IPCC FINDINGS

The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is the world’s most authoritative source on climate change. It reviews all published literature to provide comprehensive and objective scientific information.

ARCTIC MELT-WATER UPS THE RISK OF FLOODED COASTAL CITIES

Heavy rains, growing worse since the 1950s, will continue to get 7% more intense with every 1°C of global warming, according to the UN’s latest special report on climate science, and devastating category 4 or 5 cyclones will happen more often. Cities are projected to suffer more frequent and intense heatwaves, as well as heavier rains and runoff. In the world’s many coastal cities, sea level rise and storm surges will combine with more intense rains and storms to make severe flooding far more common. Elsewhere, heatwaves and droughts are expected to occur together more often, including in crop-producing areas.

  • Heavy rains around the world have been getting increasingly worse and more frequent since the 1950s, and strong tropical cyclones have occurred more often and intensified more rapidly over the past four decades.
  • Droughts are happening more often and intensifying in some regions.
  • Unprecedented extreme storms and other never-seen-before weather events will happen more often in the future.
  • Sea levels around the world are expected to rise by up to 0.55 metres by 2100. If carbon emissions are reduced, oceans will climb 0.44-0.76 meters, but if not, they’re expected to rise 0.63-1.01 metres.

EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS

DATA SOURCE

Charts best viewed in landscape mode, rotate your phone to explore this chart.

Science finds close links between Arctic warming and extreme weather across the Northern Hemisphere. Devastating and costly cyclones, heatwaves, droughts and other weather disasters across North America, Europe and Asia have all been tied to the effects of super-charged Arctic warming.

SEA LEVEL RISE

DATA SOURCE

Charts best viewed in landscape mode, rotate your phone to explore this chart.

Melting glaciers and ice sheets, including those in the Arctic, are the main reason sea levels increased between 2006 and 2018. Oceans, which rose by 20 millimetres (0.79 inches) between 1901 and 2018, are now rising by almost four millimetres (0.16 inches) per year. Higher oceans, combined with more intense storms and rain, are expected to cause more catastrophic flooding in coastal cities around the world.

ARCTIC RISK INDICATORS

The following gauges show up-to-date data regarding key indicators in the Arctic. These indicators clearly point to the crisis at hand.

liters/sec tonnes/sec
Greenland rate of ice loss
4.5 hundred thousands l/s
on average in 1986-2015
4.5 tons per second
on average in 1986-2015
1970s 1980s 1990s
Worldwide number of disasters
265 disasters
more events in 2022 in comparison to 1970s
183 disasters
more events in 2022 in comparison to 1980s
100 disasters
more events in 2022 in comparison to 1990s
km² mi²
Arctic Sea Ice Extent
986,499 km²
below 1981-2010 average on 20-Mar-2023
380,887 mi²
below 1981-2010 average on 20-Mar-2023
30 years 50 years 70 years
Arctic Amplification
2.81 times
faster than global average in last 30 years
2.59 times
faster than global average in last 50 years
2.49 times
faster than global average in last 70 years
MT
Arctic Wildfire emissions
0.16 megatonnes CO₂e
CO₂e emissions in 2023 so far
μg/m³
Arctic Air Quality (PM2.5)
2.72 microgram per cubic meter
on 21-Mar-2023