This article discusses the Arctic summer of 2019: record-beating heat, dramatic ice loss and raging wildfires. Gloomy pictures of climate change from the top of the world.
Never before have temperatures this high been registered at this time of year. June 2019 was the warmest ever on record on planet earth.
The previous record from 2016 was smashed. It was the world’s 43rd consecutive June and the 414th consecutive month with temperatures above the 20th century average. Nine of the 10 warmest Junes have occurred since 2010, the World Meteorological Organization informs.
The Arctic was no exception. Parts of the far northern region saw temperatures more common to southern beach resorts. In North Siberia, along the coast of the Laptev Sea, heat brought average temperatures for the month up to 8 degrees Celsius above normal, information from Russia’s meteorological institute Roshydromet shows.