A year-end report published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a US-based organization, indicates that the arctic air is warming up at a rate that is 200% of what is seen in other parts of the world. At the same time, other factors have combined to show the ice sheets in Greenland are melting at a rate that is negligible. In other words, the ice sheets appear to be holding steady at this time. The NOAA’s findings, entitled “Arctic Report Card 2014″, were the result of a joint collaboration of 63 scientists from 13 participating nations.
The report also suggests that the recent stormy winter experienced in Northern Europe at the start of the year may have been the result of the warmer arctic air. This same air may also have triggered the cold winter the United States and Canada experienced this past winter. The warmer arctic air has been found to push colder temperatures into Central Russia and the Eastern United States. It also opens up a pathway for warmer air to travel into both Northern Europe and Alaska. Winter snow accumulations were also found to be below historical averages in key regions across the world…more
