Antarctica & Arctic

"U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Reykjavik, Iceland, for talks on climate change and to take part in an Arctic Council ministerial meeting."

"Arctic sea ice reaches its annual maximum extent in March. But while ice extent is high this year, scientists are far more concerned by the drastic loss of sea ice volume, which continues its steady decline."

"On Alaska’s North Slope, treeless and snow-shrouded for much of the year, it isn’t easy being a wolverine. The sinewy, solitary animals survive through a constant search for food, burrowing into snowdrifts to rest."

"A Russian court has ordered a mining company involved in a massive Arctic fuel spill last year to pay approximately $1.96 billion in compensation."

"This year’s vast wildfires in far northeastern Russia were linked to broader changes in a warming Arctic, according to a report Tuesday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration."

"President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday Russia wanted to retain its “superiority” in the Arctic and that it planned to renew its icebreaker fleet to bolster its presence there."

"After a summer that saw record Siberian fires and polar temperatures topping 100 degrees Fahrenheit, along with near record low sea ice extent in September, the Arctic Ocean’s refreeze has slowed to a crawl."

"The region is unravelling faster than anyone could once have predicted. But there may still be time to act".

"A “crazy year” in the Arctic has resulted in the second-lowest extent of sea ice in the region, scientists said Monday. Researchers with the National Snow and Ice Data Center said the minimum was most likely reached on Sept. 15, with 1.44 million square miles of ocean covered in ice. Since then, with temperatures falling and new ice forming, coverage has been increasing."

"Two Antarctic glaciers that have long kept scientists awake at night are breaking free from the restraints that have hemmed them in, increasing the threat of large-scale sea-level rise."