Arctic tundra is releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere as hotter temperatures melt frozen ground and wildfires increase.
The Arctic tundra is warming up and that's causing long-frozen ground to melt as well as an increase in wildfires. The region is"now emitting more carbon that it stores, which will worsen climate change impacts," explained NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad in a statement.
Wildfires are increasing in the Arctic, like this one in Alaska's Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge in June 2024. This year's report comes as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office in January. Trump has said he wants to increase oil exploration and drilling in the Arctic andSue Natali, a scientist at the Woodwell Climate Research Center and contributor to the Arctic Report Card, declined to comment on the incoming administration. But she said this year's report demonstrates the importance of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and continuing climate change research.
Twila Moon, lead editor of the Arctic Report Card and a scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center, likened permafrost to chicken in the freezer: As long as it stays frozen, microbes stay away. Wildfires in North American permafrost regions have increased in recent decades. Since 2003, emissions from polar wildfires have averaged 207 million tons of carbon per year. That's more than the annual carbon dioxide emissions of
The Greenland ice sheet is massive—nearly two miles thick at its thickest point—and its melting is the second-largest contributor to global sea-level rise.
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