Arctic Refreeze
Bitter cold around the North Pole so far this year has caused Arctic sea ice to expand to its greatest coverage since 2009. Despite the rapid expansion during January to 13.5 million square km, it was still the sixth-smallest January extent in 43 years of satellite observations.
Experts believe it will be only a temporary recovery from the long-term shrinking trend caused by the Arctic warming at up to three times the global average. This is in contrast to the near record-low January sea ice coverage observed around Antarctica. NOAA climate scientists say that overall, the planet experienced the seventh-warmest January since reliable records began in 1880.
Antarctic Greening
Scientists have documented what they call a “striking” expansion of Antarctica’s two native flowering plants, driven mostly by a rapidly warming climate.
Writing in the journal Current Biology, scientists document how Antarctic hair grass and Antarctic pearlwort have expanded on Signy Island, off the Antarctic Peninsula, as the average summer air temperature increased by almost 2 degrees Celsius since 1960. They note that this spread will alter the local ecology, including changes in soil chemistry, the bacteria and fungi content in the soil and how organic material decomposes.
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