by Lucie AUBOURG Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON D.C., United States (AFP) — Rapid warming of the Arctic is likely a key driver of extreme winter weather in the United States, according to a new study that addresses a longstanding apparent contradiction in climate science and could explain events like February’s cold snap in Texas. The paper, published in the journal Science, used observational data and modeling to establish a link between planetary warming linked to human […]
Tag: Arctic
Arctic sea ice thinning faster than expected, new study shows
by Joe JACKSON LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Sea ice in the Arctic’s coastal regions may be thinning up to twice as fast as previously thought, according to a new study, with worrying implications for climate change. The analysis, led by researchers at Britain’s University College London (UCL), concluded the ice in the coastal regions was thinning at a rate 70 to 100 percent faster than the established consensus. The dramatic reassessment comes after the […]
North Texas residents share their stories on how they’re coping with historic winter storm
(Eagle News) — Texans struggle to stay warm as the winter storm leaves millions without power. In Frisco, Texas, Eagle News correspondent Nenita Manaois got some reactions from residents about how they are coping with the situation. Watch this in this Eagle News America report.
Washing your clothes can create Arctic microplastic pollution
by Kelly Macnamara Agence France-Presse Households in Europe and North America are flooding the oceans with plastic pollution simply by washing their clothes, scientists said Tuesday after research found the majority of microplastics in Arctic seawater were polyester fibres. Plastic particles have infiltrated even the most remote and seemingly-pristine regions of the planet. These tiny fragments have been discovered inside fish in the deepest recesses of the ocean — the Mariana Trench — peppering Arctic […]
Global warming to continue no matter what we do: study
by Marlowe HOOD Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — Even if humanity stopped emitting greenhouse gases tomorrow, Earth will warm for centuries to come and oceans will rise by metres, according to a controversial modelling study published Thursday. Natural drivers of global warming — more heat-trapping clouds, thawing permafrost, and shrinking sea ice — already set in motion by carbon pollution will take on their own momentum, researchers from Norway reported in the Nature journal […]
Biggest North Pole mission back from ‘dying Arctic’
by Yannick PASQUET Agence France-Presse BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — Researchers on the world’s biggest mission to the North Pole returned to Germany on Monday, bringing home devastating proof of a dying Arctic Ocean and warnings of ice-free summers in just decades. The German Alfred Wegener Institute’s Polarstern ship returned to the port of Bremerhaven after 389 days spent drifting through the Arctic trapped in ice, allowing scientists to gather vital information on the effects of […]
Arctic summer sea ice second lowest on record: US researchers
by Ivan Couronne with Pia Ohlin in Stockholm WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Arctic summer sea ice melted in 2020 to the second smallest size since records began 42 years ago, US scientists announced Monday, offering further stark evidence of the impact of global warming. Arctic sea ice melts in summer and reforms in winter, but precise satellite imagery taken regularly since 1979 documented how the cycle has been shrinking significantly. The year’s minimum was […]
Canada backs opposition to Alaska oil drilling threatening caribou
OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — Canada on Thursday threw its support behind groups fighting to safeguard caribou that are threatened by a recent US approval of oil and gas drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which borders the Yukon. The US Department of the Interior in August approved plans for drilling in the remote Arctic region. Interior Secretary David Bernhardt said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal that drilling leases could be auctioned […]
Bering Sea ice at lowest levels in 5,500 years: study
WASHINGTON D.C., United States (AFP) — Winter ice in the Bering Sea, in the northern Pacific Ocean between Alaska and Russia, is at its lowest levels for 5,500 years, according to a study released Wednesday. Researchers analyzed vegetation that accumulated on the uninhabited island of St Matthew over the last five millennia. They looked at variations in peat layers of oxygen atoms called isotopes 16 and 18, whose proportions over time correlate with atmospheric and oceanic […]
Arctic sea ice melting faster than forecast
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AFP) — The Arctic sea ice is melting faster than climate models had predicted, researchers at the University of Copenhagen warned on Tuesday. Until now, climate models have predicted a slow and steady increase of Arctic temperatures, but a new study shows that warming is occurring at a more rapid pace. “We have been clearly underestimating the rate of temperature increases in the atmosphere nearest to the sea level, which has ultimately caused […]
Highest-ever temperature recorded in Norwegian Arctic archipelago
OSLO, Norway (AFP) — Norway’s Arctic archipelago Svalbard on Saturday recorded its highest-ever temperature, the country’s meteorological institute reported. According to scientific study, global warming in the Arctic is happening twice as fast as for the rest of the planet. For the second day in a row, the archipelago registered 21.2 degrees Celsius (70.2 Fahrenheit) in the afternoon, just under the 21.3 degrees recorded in 1979, meteorologist Kristen Gislefoss told AFP. Later in the afternoon […]
Russian mining giant admits waste ‘violations’ at Arctic plant
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — A Russian mining giant behind an enormous Arctic fuel spill last month said Sunday it had suspended workers at a metals plant who were responsible for pumping wastewater into nearby tundra. Norilsk Nickel cited a “flagrant violation of operating rules” in a statement announcing it had suspended employees responsible for dumping wastewater from a dangerously full reservoir into wildlife. The incident occurred at the Talnakh enrichment plant near the Arctic city […]





