Antarctic sea ice extent for 25 February 2022, was 1.92 million square kilometers (741,000 square miles). The orange line shows the 1981 to 2010 average extent for that day. Graphic: National Snow and Ice Data Center

WMO: Antarctic heat, rain, and ice prompt concern – “This event is rewriting record books and our expectations about what is possible in Antarctica”

1 April 2022 (WMO) – Record high temperatures, rain and the collapse of an ice shelf in East Antarctica have prompted questions and concern about the possible role of climate change in the coldest and driest part of the world. Record high temperatures, rain and the collapse of an ice shelf in East Antarctica have […]

Sateliite data showing the 2021 Antarctic ozone hole, which reached its maximum area on 7 October 2021 and ranked as the 13th-largest such feature since 1979. This view, from a NASA video, shows its current extent based on satellite data. Data: Paul Newman and Eric Nash / NASA / Ozone Watch. Graphic: Joshua Stevens

Video: Larger-than-average ozone hole over Antarctica in 2021 – Ozone layer recovery slower than anticipated, will be no earlier than 2070

By Elizabeth Howell 5 November 2021 (Space.com) – A new NASA video highlights the giant ozone hole that opened over Antarctica this year. A cold Southern Hemisphere winter, and possible effects of global warming, have caused the hole to grow to its 13th-largest extent since 1979. The ozone depletion you see in the NASA video is monitored by three […]

Abstract in video format for the paper titled: "Global changes in oceanic mesoscale currents over the satellite altimetry record", Martinez Moreno, J., Hogg, A. McC., England, M. H., Constantinou, N. C., Kiss, A. E., and Morrison, A. K. (2021) Global changes in oceanic mesoscale currents over the satellite altimetry record, 22 Apr 2021. Video: Martinez Moreno, et al., 2021 / Nature Climate Change

Changes to giant ocean eddies could have “devastating effects” globally – Scientists find “a global-scale reorganization of the ocean’s energy over the past three decades”

By Graham Readfearn 22 April 2021 (The Guardian) – Twirling and meandering ocean currents that help shape the world’s climate have gone through a “global-scale reorganisation” over the past three decades, according to new research. The amount of energy in these ocean currents, which can be from 10km to 100km across and are known as […]

Map showing land and ocean global temperature percentiles and departures from average for January 2020. The January 2020 global land and ocean surface temperature was the highest in the 141-year record at 2.05°F (1.14°C) above the 20th century average of 53.6°F (12.0°C). This value surpassed the previous record set in 2016 by only 0.04°F (0.02°C). Graphic: NOAA / NCEI

January 2020 was the warmest January on record for the globe

13 February 2020 (NCEI) – The globally averaged temperature departure from average over land and ocean surfaces for January 2020 was the highest for the month of January in the 141-year NOAA global temperature dataset record, which dates back to 1880. This monthly summary, developed by scientists at NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, is […]

Animation showing the age of the Arctic sea ice between 2015 and 2019. Video: NASA

35 years of climate change in one video

By Johnny Wood 18 November 2019 (WEF) – Q: If you subtract 95 percent from something, what’s left? A: An environmental crisis. The “something” in question is the oldest and thickest solid layer of frozen water in the Arctic Ocean, which is melting so rapidly that just 5% of its original mass remains. Scientists from the […]

The pattern of normalized relative sea-level (RSL) from Glacial Isostatic Adjustement (GIA) simulations of a 20-m rise in eustatic sea level (ESL). Graphic: Grant, et al., 2019 / Nature

If warming exceeds 2°C, Antarctica’s melting ice sheets could raise seas 20 meters in coming centuries

By Georgia Rose Grant and Timothy Naish 2 October 2019 (The Conversation) – We know that our planet has experienced warmer periods in the past, during the Pliocene geological epoch around three million years ago. Our research, published today, shows that up to one third of Antarctica’s ice sheet melted during this period, causing sea levels to rise […]

Annual average sea-ice extent in the Southern Ocean, 1979-2019. Sea ice extent in Antarctica has plunged since 2014. Data: Parkinson, 2019 / Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Graphic: The Guardian

“Precipitous” fall in Antarctic sea ice since 2014 revealed – “The rapid decline has caught us by surprise and changes the picture completely”

By Damian Carrington 1 July 2019 (The Guardian) – The vast expanse of sea ice around Antarctica has suffered a “precipitous” fall since 2014, satellite data shows, and fell at a faster rate than seen in the Arctic. The plunge in the average annual extent means Antarctica lost as much sea ice in four years […]

Fine-resolution transect across the abyssal boundary current near the Orkney Passage sill, showing squared vertical shear (color), neutral density (black contours), and rate of turbulent kinetic energy dissipation (ε, shaded bars). Graphic: Garabato, et al., 2019 / PNAS

First “Boaty McBoatface” outing sheds new light on the warming ocean abyss

17 June 2019 (University of Southampton) – The first mission involving the autonomous submarine vehicle Autosub Long Range (better known as Boaty McBoatface) has for the first time shed light on a key process linking increasing Antarctic winds to rising sea temperatures. Data collected from the expedition, published today in the scientific journal PNAS, will […]

Pentagon warns about China’s increased activity in the Arctic, growing ambition to expand its presence

By Elizabeth Mclaughlin and Conor Finnegan 3 May 2019 (ABC News) – China is increasing its activity in the Arctic, building a second ice-breaking ship and looking to expand its footprint in Greenland, according to a new Pentagon report, and Beijing’s presence in the region could lead to the deployment of armed submarines, the report […]

25th anniversary edition of WMO’s State of the Climate report shows accelerating global warming impacts – “The data released in this report give cause for great concern”

28 March 2019 (WMO) – The physical signs and socio-economic impacts of climate change are accelerating as record greenhouse gas concentrations drive global temperatures toward increasingly dangerous levels, according to a new report from the World Meteorological Organization. The WMO Statement on the State of the Global Climate in 2018, its 25th anniversary edition, highlights […]

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