This article discusses how Svalbard, Norway, could become 10°C warmer. A new grim climate report outlines how thawing permafrost combined with more heavy rainfall will trigger landslides and coastal erosion.
Isfjorden (the icefjord) northwest from Longyearbyen hasn’t been ice-covered mid-winter for the last 10 years. Svalbard’s climate is dramatically changing with average temperatures already four degrees Celsius warmer today than in the early 1970s.
Changes mid-winter are most dramatic.
Since 1971 Svalbard has experienced a winter warming of 7ºC. And worse will it be, states the new “Climate in Svalbard 2100” report presented in Longyearbyen on Monday.
People in Longyearbyen have first hand knowledge on what it means to live the what likely is the world’s fastest warming town.
The report, commissioned by the Norwegian Environmental Agency, concludes that under medium to high scenarios, the annual mean air temperature on Svalbard is projected to increase by 7ºC to 10ºC by the end of this century.