Last updated October 15, 2021
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Record Arctic Warmth 2017

Arctic

The year 2017 has seen some of the warmest temperatures ever recorded, only slightly below 2016. In particular, 2017 has seen unusually warm temperatures in the Arctic, continuing the long-term trend of rapid warming and sea ice decline in the region.[1][2] The Arctic region has warmed more than twice as fast as the global average — a phenomenon known as Arctic amplification.[3]

After record warm wintertime temperatures in the Arctic, the sea ice maximum extent set a new record low on March 7, 2017, at 5.57 million square miles (14.42 million square kilometers) in satellite records dating back to 1979. This record was slightly lower than the previous records set in 2015 and 2016, meaning maximum sea ice extent has been record low for three consecutive years.

In September, sea ice shrunk to 1.79m sq mi (4.64m sq km), making it the eighth lowest minimum extent on record.

Accelerated warming in the Arctic increases global sea-level rise, greenhouse gas emissions, and affects weather patterns in lower latitudes.[4]

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melting sea ice