‘Arctic sea ice continues to show resiliency…nearly normal temperatures expected during the all-important summer melting season’

Overview

The summer season is fast approaching, and probabilities are high that overall temperatures in the Arctic region will be nearly normal which happens to be right around the 32 degree (F) freezing mark. Chances are indeed high since this temperature pattern of nearly normal conditions during the summer months of June, July, and August has taken place virtually every year since the turn of the century. Meanwhile, the other nine months of the year in the Arctic region have featured above-normal temperatures in a pattern that too 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. Arctic sea ice extent has been running at below-normal levels since the middle 1990’s; however, if temperatures again remain nearly normal during the summer (melting) season, the chance for any additional significant drop off 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 featuring nearly normal summertime conditions and warmer-than-normal during the coldest nine months of the year is the increased levels of water vapor in the atmosphere.