Svalbard has had its hottest summer on record for the third time in a row. Arctic is the fastest warming region on Earth, and this is clearly visible around Longyearbyen. The town, which lies further north than any permanently inhabited settlement in the world, has recorded temperatures off the normal scale.
The data from the Longyearbyen measuring station was described by Daan van den Broek, a meteorologist from the University of Helsinki. As he reports, average temperature in August this year it amounted there up to 11 degrees Celsius. This is not only 2.6 degrees higher than the previous record, which was set last year. It is also 5 degrees higher than the norm for the years 1991-2020. It should be emphasized that the impact of climate change is already visible in this period, because just 100 years ago the average temperature in August it was about 4 degrees there, not 6.
On the chartwhich was shared by the scientist, shows that the temperature this year wouldn't fit into the scale taking into account the standards of recent decades.
Even considering that 2024 will likely end up being the hottest year on record, and that the Arctic is the fastest warming region, such data is shocking. Van den Broek pointed out that such a heat wave is statistically almost improbable. “We are in uncharted waters,” he wrote.
Svalbard is melting
The Svalbard archipelago lies 1,100 km from the North Pole. It is the land of polar bears and glaciers. But the latter are particularly sensitive to heat and precipitation. rainof which there were also a lot this summer.
Even glaciers that are tens of thousands of years old are constantly changing. Part of the ice melts, which causes the glacier to lose mass, while falling snow causes the glacier to gain mass. When snowfall balances or outweighs the melting, the glacier is stable. However, the heat has caused large parts of the glaciers on Svalbard to be exposed, which can be clearly seen in satellite images.
The exposed glacier can be seen in this photo from the European Copernicus program:
And also in this photo NASA:
As NASA explains, the high temperature has had a major impact on the glaciers, which now cover about half of the islands. Without a layer of snow, the glacier is exposed to the sun and rain, which accelerate the melting. The images show how water and sediment flow from the glacier into the ocean, changing the color of the water around it. On July 23, a record for daily ice loss was broken there – it was five times greater than average that day.
According to Norwegian Climate Centre, By the end of this century (2071-2100 compared to 1971-2000) the temperature in Svalbard will rise by 7 degrees Celsius if we manage to partially reduce emissions gases greenhouse. In the scenario of further high emissions, the predicted increase is 10 degrees. This will mean rapid melting of glaciers, as well as thawing of “permafrost”. There will also be more rainfall. All this will translate into dangerous landslides and mudslides.