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HORNSUND’S TEMPS RISING ‘MORE THAN SIX TIMES’ FASTER THAN GLOBAL AVERAGE: Study at Polish station finds rapid loss of ice on land and sea a major factor during past 40 years

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Yet another leap in the “Svalbard is warming faster than elsewhere” chart is now pinpointed as the Polish Polar Station at Hornsund is reporting a study of the mean average temperature during the past four decades at the research station has risen more than six times as fast as Earth’s average.

The study published this spring states multiple factors are contributing to the accelerated rise, including increasingly exposed land and water due to ice loss that is increasing dark surfaces that absorb more sunlight. Reduced sea ice is also allowing more warm currents from areas to the south to reach the area and affecting other climate-related influences such as air temperatures.

“With the positive trend of mean annual temperature of +1.14 ∘C per decade in the last four decades (1979–2018), the climate in Hornsund is warming in this period more than six times higher than the global average, which amounts to +0.17 ∘C per decade,” a summary of the report notes.

The report notes the biggest changes in temperatures are occurring during December, January and February.

Numerous studies during the past decade have declared the Arctic as a whole is warming at least twice as fast as the global average, and a comprehensive study released early last year stated Svalbard is warming at least three time as fast. The latter report also noted the average temperature in the archipelago has risen about five degrees Celsius since 1970 and may rise another five degrees by 2070.

But, as with the Hornsund study, the temperature range also may vary widely by season and specific location, with researchers noting a worst-case scenario of up to 20 degrees of total temperature rise during winter months in the northernmost part of Svalbard is possible.

 

About Post Author

Mark Sabbatini

I'm a professional transient living on a tiny Norwegian island next door to the North Pole, where once a week (or thereabouts) I pollute our extreme and pristine environment with paper fishwrappers decorated with seemingly random letters that would cause a thousand monkeys with a thousand typewriters to die of humiliation. Such is the wisdom one acquires after more than 25 years in the world's second-least-respected occupation, much of it roaming the seven continents in search of jazz, unrecognizable street food and escorts I f****d with by insisting they give me the platonic tours of their cities promised in their ads. But it turns out this tiny group of islands known as Svalbard is my True Love and, generous contributions from you willing, I'll keep littering until they dig my body out when my climate-change-deformed apartment collapses or they exile my penniless ass because I'm not even worthy of washing your dirty dishes.
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