Arctic Temperature Alarm

Air temperature in the Arctic was -19.25°C on 2023-03-23. This is 0.15°C higher than 90th percentile of climatology period... READ MORE

Arctic Temperature Alarm

Air temperature in the Arctic was -19.28°C on 2023-03-22. This is 0.27°C higher than 90th percentile of climatology period... READ MORE

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

COUNTDOWN

CO2 Budget Depletion

UN SUSTAINABILITY DEVELOPMENT GOALS

SDG 7 - AFFORDABLE & CLEAN ENERGY

 

Transitioning from fossil fuels to clean and affordable energy is key to the bold climate action we need this decade and beyond. However, some renewable energy projects in the Arctic are perceived by local communities as a form of ‘green colonialism., stripping away their rights of Indigenous Peoples. 

GLOBAL

Expanding access to affordable and clean energy is key to improving people’s ways of living. Climate change and associated crises like air pollution are making clean energy sources such as water, wind and sun significantly more necessary. Today, while 2.8 billion people are still lacking access to clean fuels and technology for cooking – the vast majority of whom are concentrated in Sub-Saharan Africa – the global population’s access to the same fuels and technology has increased from 55 to 63 percent between 2008 and 2018 (World Bank, n.d.).

ARCTIC

Transitioning from fossil fuels to clean and affordable energy is key to the bold climate action we need this decade and beyond. However, renewable energy projects, notably hydro- and wind-power, damage and fragment Sámi reindeer grazing lands and migration routes, and are often done without adequate application of rights like Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC). In Norway, the Sámi have prosecuted Øyfjellet Wind, a company that is planning to develop one of the county’s biggest wind farms on Sámi land, as the wind turbines scare the reindeer and push them off their pastures (Saami Council, 2020). The Sámi call these developments of land and rights dispossession “green colonialism.” Communities in more isolated parts of the Arctic rarely have access to the latest technology or more environmentally friendly solutions due to remoteness, poverty and lack of infrastructure. In another example, in 2020, a study found that broadband in Nunavut was up to eight times slower than the average in Canada (Flynn, 2021). 

BACK TO SDG PAGE

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
4.5 hundred thousands l/s
on average in 1986-2015
4.5 tons per second
on average in 1986-2015
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
Arctic Sea Ice Extent
1,060,750 km²
below 1981-2010 average on 26-Mar-2023
409,555 mi²
below 1981-2010 average on 26-Mar-2023
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
Arctic Wildfire emissions
0.19 megatonnes CO₂e
CO₂e emissions in 2023 so far
Arctic Air Quality (PM2.5)
2.72 microgram per cubic meter
on 21-Mar-2023