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Combined Arctic and Antarctic sea ice cover plunged to a record low in February

Arctic sea ice peak reaches record low

This year's Arctic sea ice peak is the lowest in the 47-year satellite record, the US National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) said, as the planet continues to swelter under the mounting effects of human-driven climate change.

Climate Change • 27 Mar

The remote property on Svalbard has no commercial value

Norway calls off unique property sale in Arctic Svalbard

The Norwegian government has called off a plan to sell the last privately owned piece of land on the strategic Arctic archipelago of Svalbard in order to prevent its acquisition by China.

World • 01 Jul 24

Scientists found that the Arctic sea ice had retreated faster in the spring of 2020 'than since the beginning of records'

Scientist warns over global warming tipping point

The tipping point for irreversible global warming may have already been triggered, the scientist who led the biggest-ever expedition to the Arctic has warned.

Climate Change • 15 Jun 21

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is critical to protect polar bears and other vulnerable wildlife

US halts oil drilling in Alaska wildlife refuge

US President Joe Biden's administration has announced it was halting petroleum development activity in the Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, reversing a move by former president Donald Trump to allow drilling.

US • 02 Jun 21

In less than half a century, from 1971 to 2019, the Arctic's average annual temperature rose by 3.1C

Arctic warmed three times faster than Earth since 1971

The Arctic warmed three times faster than the planet as a whole between 1971 and 2019, a higher rate than previously thought, a scientific report has warned.

Climate Change • 20 May 21

Many parts of Europe, like here in the Netherlands, endured record heat in 2020

2020 was warmest year on record in Europe - study

Europe endured record heat and rainfall last year while temperatures in Arctic Siberia soared off the charts, the European Union's climate monitoring service has reported.

Environment • 22 Apr 21

Russia's northern territories have faced a heat wave in recent weeks (File pic)

Climate change blamed for 'abnormal' fires in Arctic

The Russian Arctic set record temperatures in June that sparked abnormal tundra fires, the head of Russia's weather service has said, blaming climate change for the "fantastical" anomalies.

Weather • 30 Jun 20

WMO said Covid pandemic did not play a role in the reduction of pollution

Record ozone hole over Arctic in March now closed - UN

Ozone depletion over the Arctic hit a "record level" in March, the biggest since 2011, but the hole has now closed, the UN World Meteorological Organization has said.

Environment • 01 May 20

The multi-million-euro mission will study Arctic climate aboard the massive icebreaker Polarstern

Largest ever polar expedition to probe Arctic climate

A team of scientists from 19 countries is about to set off for the Arctic aiming to freeze their ship into the polar ice for a year to research the changing climate.

World • 20 Sep 19

Since 1970, average annual temperatures have risen by 4C in Svalbard

'We are losing the Arctic as we know it'

The Wahlenberg glacier in Norway's Svalbard archipelago is calving icebergs at an increasing rate because of warming ocean waters, according to the international director of the Norwegian Polar Institute.

News Lens • 05 Sep 19

'The plastic just jumped out in both its abundance and its scale' (Image:EPA-EFE/Kajetan Deja/Alfred Wegener Institut)

Scientists discover microplastics in Arctic ice

Tiny pieces of plastic have been found in ice cores drilled in the Arctic by a US-led team of scientists.

News Lens • 15 Aug 19

Antarctica's mountains are covered in enough ice to raise sea levels by 57 metres

Antarctic sea ice in decline since 2014 - study

Antarctica's sea ice cover melted by an area four times greater than France in just a few years and now stands at a record low, according to a new study.

World • 02 Jul 19

Danish scientists had to wade through the melting ice water to retrieve their equipment
(Courtesy: DMI/Steffen M Olsen)

Viral photo highlights Greenland's melting ice caps

Scientists say 2019 could be another annus horribilis for the Arctic with record temperatures already registered in Greenland, a giant melting icicle that threatens to submerge the world's coastal areas one day.

World • 19 Jun 19

Arctic also saw the second-lowest overall sea-ice coverage and the lowest recorded winter ice in the Bering Sea

Global warming heating Arctic at record pace - report

Global warming is heating the Arctic at a record pace, driving broad environmental changes across the planet, including extreme storms in the United States and Europe, a major US scientific report has said.

Environment • 12 Dec 18

Sea ice is seen from NASA's Operation IceBridge research aircraft off the northwest coast on 30 March above Greenland

Plastic pollution builds up in Arctic waters

Even though few people live in the Arctic, some seas in the region are heavily polluted with plastic because of an Atlantic ocean current which dumps debris there, researchers said.

Science • 19 Apr 17

Average temperatures over land in the Arctic have risen 3.5C since 1900

Record warmth causes decline in Arctic sea ice

Record warmth in the Arctic in 2016 has caused massive declines in sea ice and snow and delayed the autumn freeze, scientists have warned.

Arctic • 13 Dec 16

Greenland sharks are slow swimmers and are nearly blind, but are capable hunters

Greenland sharks can live to be 400, says research

Scientists have discovered that the Greenland shark, a big and slow-moving deep-ocean predator that prowls the waters of the Arctic and North Atlantic, can live to be around 400 years old.

News • 12 Aug 16

The high temperatures have led to very early melting of Arctic sea ice and the Greenland ice sheet

Record high temperatures recorded so far in 2016

Global temperature records were broken again in May as NASA data showed the northern hemisphere also experienced the hottest spring on record.

Science • 14 Jun 16

Shell's net income slumps 70% in the third quarter of this year

Shell profits down after weak oil forces write-off

Royal Dutch Shell has reported a sharp drop in third-quarter profits on the back of low oil prices and a $8.2 billion charge which included write-offs in Alaska and Canada.

Business • 29 Oct 15

Shell interrupted its drilling programme in the region in 2012 after suffering a series of mishaps

Shell granted clearance to resume Arctic drilling

The Obama administration has granted Royal Dutch Shell final clearance to resume drilling for oil and gas in the environmentally fragile Arctic Ocean for the first time since 2012, a move green groups vowed to fight.

Business • 18 Aug 15

Passengers heading into downtown Chicago wait in sub-zero temperatures for the train to arrive

Arctic chill means parts of US colder than Mars

A deadly chill has much of the United States and Canada in its wintry grip, as a record-breaking cold snap brought temperatures lower than on the surface of Mars.

News • 08 Jan 14

Greenpeace protests from Eiffel Tower over 30 detained in Russia

Greenpeace protester swings from Eiffel Tower

A Greenpeace activist suspended himself from the Eiffel Tower calling for the release of 30 people who have spent more than a month in a Russian jail over a protest against oil drilling in the Arctic.

News • 26 Oct 13

Arctic