ANCHORAGE, Alaska- Global warming or climate emergency as it is aptly termed by the scientific community has taken a huge toll on Alaska, a state where heavy snows were once a common sight. The US state has this year experienced extreme weather conditions ranging from scorching summer, extensive wildfires to melting sea ice and winter rains. Alaska saw record-high average temperature this year.
Warming has led to mass destruction of seabirds and marine mammals. Blame it on Alaska’s proximity with the Arctic that the state heats up at twice the rate of planet earth as a whole!.
Climatologist Brian Brettschneider at University of Alaska has tolled the alarm bell. He says : “Despite the current cold snap, I don’t see any way that 2019 is not the warmest year on record.”
Is this heatwave condition going to happen every year? No way. But the trend is on an upward spiral, according to Rick Thoman, a scientist with university’s Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy.
In 2016, Alaska saw its warmest year when the temperature averaged 32.5 degrees Fahrenheit (just over 0 Celsius).
Heatwave triggers chaos
Early spring melt happened on major rivers this time and the uppermost layer of permafrost across the Seward Peninsula was thawed during the year.
In several places, summer temperatures soared to 90 or even higher including at Anchorage during a severe drought. Forest fires caused widespread damage as they destroyed homes, sparked evacuations and polluted air quality for weeks.
Adding to woes, unprecedented ocean temperatures released toxic algae blooms in Chukchi Sea.
The Arctic coast city of Utqiagvik recorded its most extreme thaw conditions on record. Parts of the sea coast, once frozen solid by October, had yet to ice over by mid-December.
Climate observer Billy Adams is relieved. “We finally got some ice on the shore. By the way, it’s December 20 today.” she reminded. Adams is member of a community network managed by the Arctic Research Center.
Ocean waters take more heat when sea ice vanishes. This phenomenon is a kind of thermodynamic feedback loop and it triggers a cascade of wide-ranging climatic consequences that covers the entire globe, Thoman said.
2019 serves as a preview of Alaska’s future. As we move on, these types of testing years will be more and more common,” Brettschneider added.
(Photos syndicated via Reuters)
This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field.