The Arctic has long been a source of awe and wonder for humans, but recent signals from the frozen landscape are profoundly worrying. The Trump administration’s decision to pull the US out of global climate strategy and gut its science agencies has scientists deeply concerned about the region’s future.
Last month was extreme: temperatures in parts of the Arctic spiked 36 degrees Fahrenheit above normal, with sea ice levels reaching their lowest ever recorded for February. This follows a year of concerning signs from the region, including intense wildfires and thawing permafrost pumping out planet-heating pollution.
The Arctic is now experiencing a “new regime” of record-setting warming, where signals such as sea ice loss and ocean temperatures may not always break records, but are consistently more extreme compared to the past. This has global consequences, as the Arctic plays a vital role in global temperatures and weather systems.
“It’s like our planetary air conditioning system,” said Twila Moon, deputy lead scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center. The decline of the Arctic accelerates global warming, increases sea level rise, and drives more extreme weather.
The loss of sea ice is a clear sign that the Arctic is in trouble. It should be reaching its annual maximum levels of ice at this time of year, but instead it’s experiencing record lows. Scientists warn that if humans stop pumping out climate pollution, the Arctic will still experience significant warming, with the region expected to be ice-free by 2050.
Sea ice loss not only damages wildlife and ecosystems but also has global consequences. As the sun’s energy is absorbed by the dark ocean, it accelerates global heating. The rapid warming in the Arctic weakens the jet stream, altering weather systems that affect billions of people.
While some changes can be reversed if humans stop pumping out climate pollution, many are considered “relatively irreversible.” Scientists’ ability to track the swift-changing Arctic is being jeopardized by geopolitical upheaval, including Russia’s war on Ukraine and US cuts to government climate science jobs.
Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/03/12/climate/arctic-sea-ice-heat-downward-spiral/index.html