A symbol of the region, the ice floe appears to be a declared victim, but every part of the degree matters: the odds of it completely disappearing in the summer – before repair in the winter – are ten times higher if the temperature on the ground increases. Degrees Celsius instead of 1.5 degrees Celsius, which are the goals stipulated in the Paris Agreement.

Ces données alarmantes figurent dans un rapport actualisé du Program de surveillance et d’évaluation de l’Arctique (AMAP) rendu public à l’occasion d’une réunion ministérielle du Conseil de l’Arctique qui rassemble cette semaine à Reykjavik les paysains de Region.

The Arctic is truly a global warming hotspotSummarizes, Jason Books, a glaciologist with the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland.

In less than half a century, from 1971 to 2019, the average annual temperature increased by 3.1 ° C while the planet’s temperature rose simultaneously by 1 ° C.

Baffling rhythm. In its updated previous report published in 2019, AMAP indicated that warming in the Arctic has arrived More than double the global average.

According to the researchers, a turning point occurred in 2004 with a largely unexplained jump in the thermometer over the Arctic Circle, after which warming there continued at a rate of 30% greater than before.

The area you see today Winter heat spells are more and longerJason Books explains to AFP: The weather systems, sometimes scorching, are sweeping the region, especially during the period of ice formation, between October and May.

L ‘the summerFrom June to September, heat was added from the oceans, which were increasingly freed from sea ice and the insulation it provided.

It’s not over because, according to the projections cited by the report, by the end of the century average temperatures in the Arctic should rise between 3.3 ° C and 10 ° C higher than the 1985-2014 average, the exact figure depending on the size of greenhouse gas emissions Global warming in the future.

Warming in these areas has immediate consequences for ecosystems: habitat modification, dietary habits, animal interactions – including the famous polar bear – and migration of some species …

A warmer and wetter polar region

From Siberia to Sweden to Alaska, uncontrollable wildfires have become a common issue.

In addition to the problems they pose to protect people and property, The resulting smoke also contains carbon dioxide and carbon black, both of which contribute to climate change, Notes American researcher Michael Young.

Disastrous consequences also for the 4 million people who live at these latitudes, especially indigenous peoples.

Hunters in northwest Greenland say the time period for traveling with dog sleds has decreased from five to three months.Says Sarah Trainor, director of the Alaska Center for Climate Policy and Assessment.

Fishermen and fishermen in Canada and Russia report smaller seals, less healthy wildlife, and more worms in fish and marine mammals.

The warmer arctic is also the wetter polar region. Rain replaces snow, and it particularly contributes to the formation of ice sheets that prevent deer from feeding on the lichen.

The effects of the region’s warming are felt even further.

Melting hundreds of billions of tons of ice every year in Greenland, for example, is causing sea levels to rise, putting residents thousands of kilometers away.

Of course, the retreat of ice also opens up economic opportunities, to bother environmentalists: new fishing grounds, new commercial sea routes, and easy access to potential oil, gas and mineral resources.

However, Sarah Trainor insists that the expansion potential of these industries is constrained by efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and achieve the targets set under the Paris Agreement.