What is Arctic Climate Change?

According to research-based evidence, climate change in the Arctic is at least twice as fast as elsewhere on Earth. Numerous organizations and think tanks have internalized this long ago, and work effortlessly to create awareness about what Arctic climate change is, and how it (possibly) affects the rest of the world. Objective sources of media also dedicate more time, and create extra space for bringing these findings into the public, which is of course of great significance to every citizen.

Arctic climate change, naturally, is anthropogenic climate change occurring in the world´s northernmost region, the Arctic, including the Arctic ocean, adjoining seas, Northern Canada, Greenland, parts of Finland, Sweden, Norway, Russia, The Faroe Islands and even parts of the United States of America. Since the Arctic acts as a “refrigerator” for the rest of the world, Arctic climate change and warming, including melting of ice sheets and permafrost, is particularly hazardous and involves a number of partly yet unknown risks.

When the Arctic warms, it of course affects local flora, fauna, and all the livelihood in the region. Sea and lake levels rise, snowfall becomes different, weather patterns in general less predicable, all of which causes changes in the Arctic environments. The rapid changes in the Arctic region also affect the rest of the world: e.g. the melting of ice sheets causes rise in sea levels, increases the amount of floods, and even increases the amount of rainfall in parts of the world. Melting permafrost, on the other hand, increases the risks of additional greenhouse gases, especially methane, being released into Earth´s atmosphere, when decayed plants and animals unfreeze from below the permafrost. The risks of thawing permafrost also includes the release of bacteria and diseases.

Watch the Ocean Scientists “Arctic Ocean Climate Change Impacts” to learn more about what Arctic climate change signifies:

 

Connect with me on Twitter @annemariayritys. For climate/environment-related posts only @GCCThinkActTank. Subscribe to Leading With Passion to receive my latest posts.

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