In a complete disregard for science, conservation, and climate change, the administration has released a draft plan that could allow oil and gas operations on more than 17 million acres in Alaska’s Arctic. Read more >
Photo: Derrick Jackson
The Trump Administration’s Latest: A Plan to Foul the Alaska Arctic
Derrick Z. Jackson, fellow
December 6, 2019 6:32 AM EDT
What do Alaska Wildfires Mean for Global Climate Change?
Carly Phillips, Kendall Science Fellow
July 31, 2019 3:56 PM EDT
During the (on-going) 2019 fire season, over 2 million acres have burned – an area roughly equivalent to that of Yellowstone National Park. In comparison to many fires in the conterminous United States, many fires in Alaska burn far away from population centers, and as such can be fought and responded to differently. However, to put the alarming nature of this season in context, the 2019 fire season in Alaska has already burned greater acreage than ALL fires in California during 2018 (~1.8 million acres), the year of the devastating Camp, Woolsey, and Carr fires. Read more >
How Alaska’s Recent Heat Wave May Worsen Climate Warming
Carly Phillips, Kendall Science Fellow
July 11, 2019 12:17 PM EDT
Over the holiday weekend, three cities in Alaska experienced record heat with temperatures in Anchorage reaching 90°F. In a city where local July temperatures averaged 61°F in 2018, this extreme heat illustrates the dramatic effects of climate change in northern regions of the world. These record-breaking temperatures, however, could further intensify climate warming by priming Alaskan landscapes to release carbon and heat-trapping gases in two major ways. Read more >
An old whaling site on Svalbard, Norway. Photo: Adam Markham
Rapid Warming is Creating a Crisis for Arctic Archaeology
Adam Markham, Deputy director, Climate & Energy
June 29, 2018 10:47 AM EDT
There are at least 180,000 archaeological sites in the Arctic. Many are already being lost to climate change – virtually all of them are vulnerable. Read more >
Unseasonably Warm Arctic Winter is Thawing Alaska and May Be Linked to Nor’easters
Brenda Ekwurzel, senior climate scientist
March 19, 2018 3:07 PM EDT
The northernmost city in the U.S. – Utqiaġvik (formerly called Barrow), Alaska – had record warm temperatures this winter. Perhaps the biggest shocker though, was that the North Pole went above freezing this winter (20 to 30 degrees Celsius or 36 to 54 degrees Fahrenheit above average). This shift in temperature impacts the weather outside of the Arctic. Read more >
