Climate change is coming for the world's poles
One notable feature of climate change is how the coldest parts of the planet are seeing the most extreme effects. Up north, for instance, Alaska shattered its statewide temperature record on Dec. 26, when a tidal station off Kodiak Island recorded an incomprehensible 67 degrees Fahrenheit. Nearby Kodiak City registered 65 degrees, which not only broke its record for that particular date by 20 degrees and its monthly record by nine degrees, but also would have set a record for any day between Oct. 5 and April 21. Cold Bay, Alaska broke its daily record by 18 degrees, which would have set a monthly record from November to April.
Setting heat records by that kind of gigantic margin is totally inconceivable without climate change.
Ironically, that warmer, moister air is now expected to hit unusually cold temperatures to produce freezing rain and unusually heavy snow that will encase cities across the state in ice. That kind of erratic see-sawing between extreme conditions is also fast becoming a classic characteristic of climate change.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
On the opposite side of the planet, new science has found that a key Antarctic ice sheet is even more unstable than previously thought. A large group of scientists studying the Thwaites Glacier (which is about the size of Florida) recently found troubling new evidence suggesting it may collapse entirely, possibly in less than a decade, which would have dire consequences indeed.
"It's doubled its outflow speed within the last 30 years, and the glacier in its entirety holds enough water to raise sea level by over two feet," Ted Scambos, the lead scientist on the project, said in a press release. Worse, Thwaites currently blocks the rest of the West Antarctic ice sheet from the ocean. Should it collapse, it "could lead to even more sea-level rise, up to 10 feet, if it draws the surrounding glaciers with it," said Scambos.
As Jeff Goodell writes at Rolling Stone, just two feet of sea-level rise would put huge chunks of southern Florida permanently underwater, as well as dozens of other coastal cities in the U.S. and around the world.
As Alaska and Antarctica melt, it's a reminder that climate change isn't just an issue for environmentalists — it's a clear and present danger to the physical security of the American people and all humanity.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Ryan Cooper is a national correspondent at TheWeek.com. His work has appeared in the Washington Monthly, The New Republic, and the Washington Post.
-
8 touring theater productions to mark on your calendar this fall
The Week Recommends A pop icon, Shakespeare reconsidered and a sublime musical about mortality are all on the boards
By Scott Hocker, The Week US Published
-
Today's political cartoons - September 8, 2024
Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - circuitous thoughts, overheating circuits, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Chicken with Steph's spice
The Week Recommends This Caribbean-inspired recipe is mouthwateringly delicious
By The Week UK Published
-
The moon may be the ideal place to preserve Earth's biodiversity
under the radar A cache in a crater
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Life on Earth just (maybe) got older than everyone decided it was
Under the radar Fossil records from western Africa show unexpected findings
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Production of 'dark' oxygen deep in the ocean comes to light
Under the radar The sea is full of se(a)crets
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
The biggest climate records in the last year
In Depth The number of records set in the past year is a stark reminder of the destructiveness of climate change
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Orangutan heals cut with medicinal plant
Speed Read A Sumatran orangutan in Indonesia has been self-medicating to heal a wound on his cheek
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Melting polar ice is messing with global timekeeping
Speed Read Ice loss caused by climate change is slowing the Earth's rotation
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The hot controversy surrounding solar geoengineering
under the radar Solar geoengineering is feeling the burn
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Citizen science says anyone can be a scientist
The explainer Yes, even you. The practice is being increasingly accepted by researchers as a way to gather data.
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published