Tropical Storm Ophelia takes on New York

Parts of New York City are underwater as record rains have led to life-threatening flooding. Brooklyn received more than a month's worth of rain within three hours. By nightfall on Friday 29 September, Queens recorded... READ MORE

Arctic Sea Ice Minimum Declared

The National Snow and Ice Data Center has just announced that the 2023 minimum Arctic sea ice extent occurred on 19 September and is the 6th lowest on record.... READ MORE

The World Above 1.5°C: Flooding Disasters from Libya to Hong Kong

Global temperatures have slightly decreased after a  summer with 36 consecutive days above any previous record, a phenomenon not seen in at least 125,000 years. However, the two consecutive months above 1.5C provided a... READ MORE

Polar Tipping Points Hub in WEF Global Collaboration Village

This week, the Polar Tipping Points Hub was launched in the Global Collaboration Village, a metaverse built by the World Economic Forum in partnership with Accenture and Microsoft, with scientific support from Arctic... READ MORE

Arctic Basecamp Plays Significant Role in New Polar Metaverse by World Economic Forum

The World Economic Forum (WEF) launched the Polar Tipping Points Hub, a groundbreaking virtual reality experience in collaboration with Accenture and Microsoft, yesterday at UN Climate Week in New York... READ MORE

COUNTDOWN

CO2 Budget Depletion

ARCTIC CLIMATE CHANGE

AMPLIFIES A TOP GLOBAL RISK:

The WEF Global Risks Report Survey 2022 found leaders rank failure of climate action as the number one long-term threat to the world. The Arctic plays a key role in regulating the world’s climate and weather regimes - but it is warming at least three times faster than the rest of the world. The consequences go far beyond its borders!

NEW - Frequently Asked Polar Questions

Here you will find basic information about the Arctic, such as the area, how many inhabitants it has, but also information on global risks and why the Arctic matters and how to protect it.
FAPQ

NEW - Glossary

In our mission to speak science to power, we often use terms that we assume everyone will understand. However, this assumption can lead to miscommunications or readers to not fully understand our content. This glossary explains new terms and provides context to phrases we use often.
Glossary

Climate Vulnerability and the Arctic

Arctic warming amplifies existing threats to climate vulnerable countries around the world. Our new campaign focuses on regions including Africa, Asia, Europe, the Pacific, North America and the Caribbean and highlights how Arctic warming is related to global risks such as droughts, wildfires, food and water insecurity, sea level rise, cyclones and hurricanes.

What happens in the Arctic really doesn't stay there.
Is your country climate vulnerable?

Socio-Economic Indicators

There is growing scientific evidence that climate change leads to more severe, and more frequent, extreme weather events in most parts of the planet. These extreme events, coupled with rising atmospheric temperatures and moisture across the world, are some of the most obvious manifestations of climate change. It is well documented that increasingly hot and humid conditions – as measured by heat stress – adversely affect human health and work productivity. This has a negative impact on people’s livelihoods and wider economies.

See the indicators

SDGs and the Arctic

The Arctic plays a bigger role in the success of the 17 SDGs than has ever been considered. Loss of Arctic sea ice and snow cover drives global heating by 25-40%.

Warming in the Arctic causes impacts that extend far beyond its borders and carries significant economic costs. To achieve the SDGs we need the Arctic.
The Arctic & the SDGs

The Arctic is a climate early-warning system, and its alarms are flashing red:

The latest analysis paints a picture of rapidly unfolding environmental breakdown as a direct result of increases in atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations. Extreme warming, rapid sea ice loss, Greenland melt, and permafrost thaw are all triggering a cascade of risks in the rest of the world.
See the risk data

Arctic warming unleashes socio-economic risks across the world:

it contributes to rising sea levels, higher global temperatures and increasingly extreme weather. These physical changes worsen food and water insecurity, supply chain disruption, disease, heat stress and damage to infrastructure and ecosystems. Estimates of global socio-economic and ecological impacts linked with Arctic warming put a price tag of tens of billions USD per year over the coming decades.
Read global risks

Business and government must lead the way:

Comprehensive solutions exist to address climate change by cutting emissions and adapting to a changing climate. But there are no silver bullets or shortcuts in the fight against climate change. Citizen and consumer behaviour change alone will not be enough: state and economic actors will need to show real leadership and innovation.
Read solutions

Arctic breakdown is central to WEF’s 2022 agenda:

Arctic breakdown elevates risk far beyond its borders. The WEF meeting in Davos is a critical opportunity to align government policies and business strategies to collectively act to address climate change.
Read the report

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
13 million l/s
on average
13 million tonnes/s
on average
km² mi²
Arctic Sea Ice Extent
2,404,499 km²
below 1981-2010 average on 01-Oct-2023
928,377 mi²
below 1981-2010 average on 01-Oct-2023
warming rate
Arctic Amplification
4 times
faster than global average
MT
Arctic 66N+ Wildfire emissions
24,925.36 megatonnes CO₂e
CO₂e emissions in 2023 so far
μg/m³
Arctic Air Quality (PM2.5)
4.07 microgram per cubic meter
on 02-Oct-2023
rising rate
Global mean Sea Level
3.4mm/year
since 1993