NOAA's 2020 Arctic Report Card doesn't pull any punches.
The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration observed extreme changes in the Arctic this year and laid them bare in its latest, and fifteenth, Arctic Report Card. The video underscores key points of the report.
The scientific agency published its first report card back in 2006. "It was clear from the beginning the Arctic was changing," NOAA says in the video. "The details were less understood then, and the rate of change has been extraordinary."
Now, as the planet relentlessly warms, the accelerated heating and melting trends are unmistakable:
Arctic air temperatures were some of the highest on record in 2020, including record-breaking temperatures in Siberia.
Sea ice hit the second-lowest extent in the 42-year satellite record.
"Wildfires are ravaging the high Northern latitudes," NOAA emphasized, including "zombie fires."
"The story is clear," said NOAA. "The Arctic is warmer, less frozen, and transforming biologically."
