North Pole temperatures surge 20°C above average in unprecedented warming

Live Science reports that temperatures at the North Pole have surged to unprecedented levels, reaching 20 degrees Celsius above the seasonal average. This extreme warming event has raised concerns among scientists about the accelerating effects of climate change in the Arctic.

• On Sunday, February 2, temperatures at the North Pole exceeded 0°C, the melting point of ice, marking a significant deviation from the region’s typical winter temperatures.
• The European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service detected this warming near the North Pole, while an Arctic snow buoy recorded an absolute temperature of 0.5°C.
• Mika Rantanen, a researcher at the Finnish Meteorological Institute, described the event as “a very extreme winter warming event,” noting that while it may not be the most extreme ever observed, it is “still at the upper edge of what can happen in the Arctic.”
• The unusual warmth is attributed to a deep low-pressure system over Iceland, which directed warm air toward the North Pole, compounded by elevated sea temperatures in the northeastern Atlantic.