Confirmed: 2023 set to be the warmest year on record

The WMO provisional State of the Global Climate report confirms that 2023 is set to be the warmest year on record, regardless of the final two months of... READ MORE

Colossal Antarctic iceberg, five times larger than New York City, breaks free and drifts away from region

On November 24th, scientists from the Bristish Antarctic Survey (BAS) were astonished to observe an iceberg measuring around 4,000 square kilometers (more than twice the size of Greater London) drifting away from the... READ MORE

World surpasses critical warming threshold for the first time

On November 17th, global temperatures reached 2.07°C above pre-industrial levels for the first time on record.... READ MORE

Unexpected disintegration of ice shelves in North Greenland

Alarm bells ringing as rapid disintegration and weakening of ice shelves in North Greenland is observed!... READ MORE

Three Icebergs break off West Antarctica’s most Endangered Glacier

Images recently posted in the Arctic Sea Ice Forum reveal three significant breakups, or calving events, in mid-October on Pine Island Glacier’s floating ice shelf in West... READ MORE

COUNTDOWN

CO2 Budget Depletion

UN SUSTAINABILITY DEVELOPMENT GOALS

SDG 2 - ZERO HUNGER

 

Hunger has increased for the first time in over a decade. For example, in the African Sahel, where over 30 million people are currently suffering from hunger, and where climate fluctuations are blamed for roughly 80% of the unreliable crop harvest. Arctic warming alters the jet stream and changes weather patterns, which risk simultaneous crop failure around the world leading to global food shortages and widespread food insecurity.  

GLOBAL

We will not achieve global food security without protecting the Arctic.  

Climate change undermines efforts and progress made toward achieving zero hunger, and climate variability raises the risk of disruptions to food supplies and distribution. According to FAO’s State of Food Security and Nutrition (2017), hunger has increased for the first time in over a decade, mainly due to conflicts and climate change. Arctic warming brings more extreme weather events, land degradation and desertification, water volatility, rising sea levels, and shifting climates – all of which hamper efforts to feed the planet and increase the risk of simultaneous harvest failures across the breadbasket regions of the world (Kornhuber et al., 2020). These facets of climate change weigh heavily on small-scale and subsistence farmers, for whom heat stress reduces working hours and agricultural outputs. Together, these affect food security for the most vulnerable people.  

Over the past 30 years, disasters induced by extreme weather have tripled. In countries such as Bangladesh and Vietnam, extreme weather can contaminate farmland with saltwater, leading to failed crops. In the Sahel, where over 30 million people are currently suffering from hunger, climate variability is blamed for roughly 80 percent of the unreliable crop harvest. In 2017, food insecurity was the second most common reason for emigration from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras for a new life in North America (IOM, 2017).  

ARCTIC

Food insecurity is a widespread issue across Arctic populations. In the Canadian Arctic, Inuit households are plagued with food insecurity rates five to six times higher than the average Canadian household, exceeding 80 percent in certain communities in Nunavut and Ontario (Lubofsky, 2020). In part, this is because the annual cost of an average four-person Inuit family’s healthy diet reaches up to $23,400, far exceeding the annual median income of $17,000.  

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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.

Greenland rate of ice loss
13 million l/s
on average
13 million tonnes/s
on average
Arctic Sea Ice Extent
1,445,999 km²
below 1981-2010 average on 02-Dec-2023
558,300 mi²
below 1981-2010 average on 02-Dec-2023
Arctic Amplification
4 times
faster than global average
Arctic 66N+ Wildfire emissions
25,092.70 megatonnes CO₂e
CO₂e emissions in 2023 so far
Arctic Air Quality (PM2.5)
1.09 microgram per cubic meter
on 03-Dec-2023
Global mean Sea Level
3.4mm/year
since 1993