Temperatures at north pole 20C above average and beyond ice melting point

Temperatures at the north pole soared more than 20C above average on Sunday, crossing the threshold for ice to melt.

Temperatures north of Svalbard in Norway had already risen to 18C hotter than the 1991–2020 average on Saturday, according to models from weather agencies in Europe and the US, with actual temperatures close to ice’s melting point of 0C. By Sunday, the temperature anomaly had risen to more than 20C.

“This was a very extreme winter warming event,” said Mika Rantanen, a scientist at the Finnish Meteorological Institute. “Probably not the most extreme ever observed, but still at the upper edge of what can happen in the Arctic.”

Burning fossil fuels has heated the planet by about 1.3C since preindustrial times, but the poles are warming much faster as reflective sea ice melts. The increase in average temperatures has driven an increase in fiercely hot summers and unsettlingly mild winters.

Julien Nicolas, a scientist at the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, said the unusually mild temperatures in the depths of the polar winter were linked to a deep low-pressure system over Iceland, which was directing a strong flow of warm air towards the north pole.

Extra-hot seas in the north-east Atlantic were strengthening the wind-driven warming, he added.

“This type of event is relatively rare, but we are not able to assess its frequency without further analysis,” said Nicolas. “We are aware that a similar event occurred in February 2018.”

The Copernicus data showed daily average temperatures were more than 20C above average near the north pole on Sunday, with absolute temperatures above -1C as far north as 87°N.

The findings were confirmed by an Arctic snow buoy, which logged absolute temperatures of 0.5C on Sunday.

Climate scientists estimate global temperatures through the re-analysis of billions of weather measurements from satellites, ships, aircraft and weather stations. But in remote regions such as the central Arctic, where there are fewer direct observation sites, it was “difficult to estimate the exact temperature anomaly”, said Rantanen.

“All the models I have seen indicate a temperature anomaly over 20C,” he said. “I would say 20-30C is the order of magnitude.”

A deadly bird flu strain is headed for Australia – and First Nations people have the know-how to tackle it

A virulent strain of bird flu continues to spread across the world. Australia, New Zealand and Pacific nations are the only countries free from the infection, but this will no doubt change.

Known as “Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza” or H5N1, the bird flu strain had killed more than 300 million birds worldwide as of December last year, including both poultry and wild bird populations.

Birds have always been part of the cultures and livelihoods of Australia Indigenous people. They feature in songs and dance, and are used for food and customary practices such as ceremonies and craft. Many of these practices continue today.

To date however, Indigenous peoples have not been adequately included in federal government planning for the arrival of H5N1.

So what is the likely result? Agencies and organisations will be ill-prepared to support Indigenous people experiencing intense social and cultural shock. And the opportunity to draw from the strengths of Indigenous organisations to tackle this impending disaster will have been squandered.