The Arctic Report Card 2014 published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reveals that the Arctic is warming at twice the rate of any place on Earth.
The first edition of the Arctic Report Card was published in 2006 and is updated annually. The report card details the changes in the Arctic that are caused by rising temperatures, which is partly due to the emissions of greenhouse gases.
The eight edition of the Arctic Report Card suggests that snow cover, which has been measured since 1967, fell below the average and established a record low in April in the Eurasian region of the Arctic. The report also pointed out that sea surface temperatures were also on the rise mainly in the Chukchi Sea that lies northwest of Alaska. The waters in this region are warming nearly at one degree Fahrenheit every decade.
The report reveals that the Bering Sea and the Laptev Sea also witnessed temperature rise of 7.2 degrees Fahrenheit over the 1981 to 2010 average.
The latest report reveals that the average surface air temperature from October 2013 to September 2014 was 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit, or 1 degree Celsius, over the 1981 to 2010 average.
Arctic sea ice melts in summer but 2014 did not witness a record low for the melting of ice. However, it was the sixth lowest recorded since measurements started in 1979. The mass of the Greenland Ice Sheet in 2014 was the same as in 2013.
The Arctic Report Card 2014 also highlights at the declining population of polar bears in the Arctic. The report card suggests that polar bear population has declined in western Hudson Bay, Canada, due to early break of sea ice resulting in a shorter season of sea ice. Polar bears depend on sea ice for their food, den and mating.
The report points out that in 2001, polar bear population declined by 40 percent in southern Beaufort Sea. However, the numbers have now stabilized.
Craig McLean, acting assistant administrator for the NOAA Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, revealed that heating up of the Arctic affects the people and environment in the region. The heating up also has a broader effect at a global scale.
"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," says McLean.
Given the rate at which the Arctic is experiencing changes, experts believe that it is important to expand and maintain tools needed to monitor such changes.
Check out a small video about the Arctic Report Card 2014.
