2019 NOAA Arctic Report Card

Northern Fur Seal | credit: NOAA

The latest Arctic Report Card (ARC 2019) from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recounts the numerous geophysical and biological changes that occurred in the northern polar region during 2019.

The report cites a number of important events, including near-record high air and ocean temperatures and melting of the Greenland ice sheet, low sea-ice extents, and shifts in the distribution of commercially valuable marine species.

The Arctic Report Card is an annual volume of original, peer-reviewed environmental observations and analysis of a region undergoing rapid and dramatic change.

Compiled by 81 scientists from 12 nations, the 2019 Arctic Report Card tracks a number of environmental indicators to inform decisions by local, state and federal leaders, as Arctic residents confront the challenges and opportunities presented by a rapidly changing climate and ecosystem.

"The speed and trajectory of the changes sweeping the Arctic, many occurring faster than anticipated, makes NOAA’s continued investment in Arctic research and activities all the more important," said retired Navy Rear Adm. Timothy Gallaudet, Ph.D., deputy undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere at NOAA

The Arctic Report Card is organized into three sections:

Vital Signs provides annual updates on seven topics: Surface Air Temperature; Terrestrial Snow Cover; Greenland Ice Sheet; Sea Ice; Sea Surface Temperature; Arctic Ocean Primary Productivity; and Tundra Greenness.

Other Indicators explores topics that are updated periodically.

Frostbites reports on new and emerging issues, and topics that relate to long-term scientific observations in the Arctic.

2019 Arctic Report Card Highlights:

The average annual land surface air temperature in the Arctic between October 2018 and August 2019 was the second-warmest since 1900.

North American Arctic snow cover in May 2019 was the 5th lowest for that month in 53 years of record. June snow cover was the 3rd lowest measured.

Exceptionally early snowmelt was observed in March over the northwestern Canadian Arctic and Alaska, during a month when maximum snow depth is normally reached.

The extent and magnitude of ice loss on the Greenland Ice Sheet from fall 2018 through 2019 rivaled the previous record year for ice loss, 2012.

Arctic sea ice extent at the end of summer 2019 was the second-lowest since satellite observations began in 1979.

The maximum ice cover towards the end of winter 2019 was 7th lowest in the satellite record. Bering Sea winter sea ice extent in 2019 narrowly missed eclipsing the record low set in 2018.

Loss of sea ice and changes in bottom water temperature caused Arctic fish species to shift to more northern waters between 2010 and 2018. Commercially valuable southern species are expanding their range north to take advantage of changing conditions.

In addition to the regular chapters, ARC 2019 brings a specific focus on the Bering Sea, including an essay from the Bering Sea Elders, a group representing 70 indigenous communities across the region.

source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Related Information

2019 Summer Weather Facts

2020 National Parks Fee Free Days (USA)

Acadia National Park | credit: NPS

A number of national parks across the USA will waive entrance fees on five days in 2020.

National Parks Fee Free days encourage people to get outdoors and spend time with  friends and family in U.S. national parks.

The National Park Service (NPS) will offer the following fee-free days in 2020:

• Monday, January 20 – Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
• Saturday, April 18 – Start of National Park Week / National Junior Ranger Day
• Tuesday, August 25 – National Park Service Birthday
• Saturday, September 26 – National Public Lands Day
• Wednesday, November 11 – Veterans Day

This fee-free opportunity applies to entrance fees only and does not affect fees for camping, backcountry reservations, tours, or other special uses.

Normally, 110 of the 419 national parks in the country charge an entrance fee, while the other 309 national parks do not.

The National Park System includes more than 84 million acres and is comprised of 419 sites, including national parks, national historical parks, national monuments, national recreation areas, national battlefields, and national seashores. There is at least one national park in every state.

source: National Park Service

2019 Summer Weather Facts

In 2019, weather has had major impacts on North America and Planet Earth in general. Record high temperatures resulted in loss of life, crop failures, and shrank Arctic and Antarctic sea ice to historic lows.

2019 Weather Facts:

July 2019 was the hottest month ever recorded, according to the U.S. National Weather Service.

The average global temperature in July was 1.71 degrees F above the 20th-century average of 60.4 degrees, making it the hottest July in the 140-year record, according to scientists at NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information.

The previous hottest month on record was July 2016.Nine of the 10 hottest Julys have occurred since 2005, with the last five years ranking as the five hottest. July 2019 was also the 43rd consecutive July and 415th consecutive month with above-average global temperatures.

The period from January through July produced a global temperature that was 1.71 degrees F above the 20th-century average of 56.9 degrees, tying with 2017 as the second-hottest year to date on record.

It was the hottest year to date for parts of North and South America, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, the southern half of Africa, portions of the western Pacific Ocean, western Indian Ocean, and the Atlantic Ocean.

Average Arctic sea ice set a record low for July, running 19.8% below average – surpassing the previous historic low of July 2012.

Average Antarctic sea-ice coverage was 4.3% below the 1981-2010 average, making it the smallest for July in the 41-year record.

Some cool spots: Parts of Scandinavia and western and eastern Russia had temperatures at least 2.7 degrees F below average.

source: National Weather Service