7:15 AM | *Another summer with nearly normal temperatures in the Arctic region continues a long-term trend during their melting season...Arctic sea ice showing resiliency*
July 30, 2024Paul Dorian
As long as temperatures in the Arctic region remain close-to-normal during the summer season (gray area), there will likely be a limit as to the amount of melting of sea ice. The plot shown here displays the actual temperature pattern through mid-July (orange) as compared to the mean temperatures in the Arctic region (blue) and indeed, temperatures have been nearly normal during the summertime which continues a long-term trend. Data courtesy Danish Meteorological Institute
Overview
The summer is more than half over up in the Arctic region and overall temperatures this season are repeating a pattern that began many years ago in that they are running at nearly normal levels which happens to be quite close to the freezing mark. The cold season in the Arctic has featured above-normal temperatures in the Arctic region in a pattern that has also been very consistent in recent years. It is the temperatures in the summer months of June, July, and August, however, which are the most important when it comes to Arctic sea ice extent as this is the melting season up in that part of the world. As long as temperatures remain nearly normal during the summer (melting) season, the chance for any additional significant drop off in sea ice will be limited. Indeed, given this consistent summertime temperature trend in recent years, Arctic sea ice has shown resiliency both in terms extent and in volume. One possible explanation of this persistent temperature pattern across the Arctic region with nearly normal summertime conditions and warmer-than-normal in the other nine months of the year (i.e., the cold season) is increased levels of water vapor in the atmosphere.
The temperature pattern in the Arctic region during the last many years has featured nearly normal levels during the summer (melting) season and above-normal conditions during the cold months. Data courtesy Danish Meteorological Institute
Arctic temperatures and the impact on sea ice
Temperatures have followed a persistent trend in the Arctic region during the past several years, in fact, going all the way back to the beginning of the 21st Century. Specifically, temperatures have been running at nearly normal levels during the all-important summer (melting) season of June, July, and August and then usually at well above-normal levels during the remaining nine months of the year.
https://arcfieldweather.com/blog/2024/7/30/715-am-another-summer-with-nearly-normal-temperatures-in-the-arctic-region-continues-a-long-term-trend-during-their-melting-season
