Post by Andrei Tchentchik on Aug 1, 2020 18:46:52 GMT 2
(.#A.097).- With nearly 22 ° C, the Arctic is accumulating record heat.
With nearly 22 ° C in Svalbard, the Arctic continues to set heat records
By: Damien Altendorf, scientific editor
July 28, 2020
The summer of 2020 continues its momentum in terms of extreme heat in the north polar zone. In the past few days, Svalbard has been hit in particular. It is a Norwegian archipelago - containing Spitsbergen - located in the Arctic Ocean at around 78 ° N.
Normally, the maximum temperature for a month of July is around 6 ° C to 9 ° C. However, on July 25, the Longyearbyen airport station (Spitsbergen) recorded a peak of 21.7 ° C shortly before 6 p.m. local time. An absolute record of heat for the administrative capital but also for the whole archipelago, supplanting the 21.3 ° C dated July 16, 1979. The next day, the mercury still reached 20.2 ° C at this same station and rose to 21 , 4 ° C this July 27,2020.
A sudden acceleration in the melting ice
Furthermore, it should be noted that this heatstroke is not simply a localized phenomenon. Indeed, the other stations show that an entire southwestern half of the archipelago was affected by extremely mild temperatures. For example, we measured 19.7 ° C in Pyramiden or 17 ° C in Akseloya this Saturday.
As a result, the region’s glaciers did not fail to respond. Early estimates suggest that the surface melt reached an all-time high during the weather event in question. Notably, the Svalbard ice cap is so far the one experiencing the greatest loss of relative mass of all the ice caps in the Arctic.
Vigorous foray of warm air into the Arctic Basin
The source of this exceptional weather was the circulation of a hot high pressure bubble from northern Russia. Thus, the sudden incursion of air heated by the continent and coupled with a lot of sunshine can explain these conditions, to say the least, summer. This mechanic is illustrated in the animation shown below. However, we must also take into account the underlying trend driven by climate change. The region has already warmed 3 times faster than the world average.
Pressure (contours in black) and air mass around 1500 meters (colors, in ° C) from July 22 to 26, 2020. In addition, the wind arrows at altitude are also indicated. Credits: Xavier Fettweis / @xavierfettweis.
According to a recent report, Climate in Svalbard in 2100, the archipelago's average temperature could rise an additional 7 ° C to 10 ° C by the turn of the century. Unless, of course, strong measures are taken to limit our growing greenhouse gas emissions. In the meantime, the thermometer will gradually return to more decent levels over the next few days. However, conditions will remain significantly warmer than normal. The melting should therefore continue, but at a rate that is certainly less extreme.
F I N .
With nearly 22 ° C in Svalbard, the Arctic continues to set heat records
By: Damien Altendorf, scientific editor
July 28, 2020
The summer of 2020 continues its momentum in terms of extreme heat in the north polar zone. In the past few days, Svalbard has been hit in particular. It is a Norwegian archipelago - containing Spitsbergen - located in the Arctic Ocean at around 78 ° N.
Normally, the maximum temperature for a month of July is around 6 ° C to 9 ° C. However, on July 25, the Longyearbyen airport station (Spitsbergen) recorded a peak of 21.7 ° C shortly before 6 p.m. local time. An absolute record of heat for the administrative capital but also for the whole archipelago, supplanting the 21.3 ° C dated July 16, 1979. The next day, the mercury still reached 20.2 ° C at this same station and rose to 21 , 4 ° C this July 27,2020.
A sudden acceleration in the melting ice
Furthermore, it should be noted that this heatstroke is not simply a localized phenomenon. Indeed, the other stations show that an entire southwestern half of the archipelago was affected by extremely mild temperatures. For example, we measured 19.7 ° C in Pyramiden or 17 ° C in Akseloya this Saturday.
As a result, the region’s glaciers did not fail to respond. Early estimates suggest that the surface melt reached an all-time high during the weather event in question. Notably, the Svalbard ice cap is so far the one experiencing the greatest loss of relative mass of all the ice caps in the Arctic.
Vigorous foray of warm air into the Arctic Basin
The source of this exceptional weather was the circulation of a hot high pressure bubble from northern Russia. Thus, the sudden incursion of air heated by the continent and coupled with a lot of sunshine can explain these conditions, to say the least, summer. This mechanic is illustrated in the animation shown below. However, we must also take into account the underlying trend driven by climate change. The region has already warmed 3 times faster than the world average.
Pressure (contours in black) and air mass around 1500 meters (colors, in ° C) from July 22 to 26, 2020. In addition, the wind arrows at altitude are also indicated. Credits: Xavier Fettweis / @xavierfettweis.
According to a recent report, Climate in Svalbard in 2100, the archipelago's average temperature could rise an additional 7 ° C to 10 ° C by the turn of the century. Unless, of course, strong measures are taken to limit our growing greenhouse gas emissions. In the meantime, the thermometer will gradually return to more decent levels over the next few days. However, conditions will remain significantly warmer than normal. The melting should therefore continue, but at a rate that is certainly less extreme.
F I N .
