Arctic Update: Temperatures Rising Faster Than Anywhere Else on Earth

As scientists continue to monitor the Arctic for changes in the face of climate change, they recently discovered some staggering new information - temperatures in the region are rising twice as fast as anywhere else on Earth, a new NOAA-led report says.

Global warming may be on a natural pause, but not according to the Arctic.

Among the observations released Wednesday in the Arctic Report Card 2014, researchers found that Arctic snow cover, which has been measured since 1967, fell below the average and even set a record low in April in the Eurasian region. Meanwhile, sea surface temperatures are also heating up, particularly in the Chukchi Sea northwest of Alaska, where the waters are warming at a rate of about one degree Fahrenheit (0.5 Celsius) every 10 years.

"Arctic warming is setting off changes that affect people and the environment in this fragile region, and has broader effects beyond the Arctic on global security, trade, and climate," Craig McLean, acting assistant administrator for NOAA's Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, said in a statement.

But perhaps the most talked about statistic is the fact that just this past September, Arctic sea ice extent was the sixth lowest on record since satellite observations began in 1979, scientists said. Not to mention that the eighth lowest sea ice extents have occurred in the last eight years alone (2007-2014).

And with less sea ice to walk on, the region's iconic polar bears are suffering. The report reveals that the polar bear population has declined in Hudson Bay, Canada, due to early break-up of sea ice resulting in a shorter sea ice season. Polar bears depend on sea ice to travel, hunt and mate, and in some areas den.

The report also points out that in 2001, the polar bear population dropped a whopping 40 percent in southern Beaufort Sea. However, their numbers have since stabilized.

But things are likely to get worse. According to one recent study, Arctic sea ice may completely disappear in our lifetime, leaving these polar bears hung out to dry.

"This year's Arctic Report Card shows the importance of international collaboration on long-term observing programs that can provide vital information to inform decisions by citizens, policymakers and industry," McLean said.

This is the NOAA's eighth annual update on climatic changes in the Arctic, with plans to expand and maintain tools needed to monitor such changes as our planet continues to warm up.

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