Sea ice in the Arctic Ocean is going to hit its annual minimum any day now, and it’s likely to be declared the second smallest summer minimum on record. Arctic sea ice melts during the spring and summer and refreezes in the fall and winter, creating natural patterns in sea ice extent that reach a minimum every September and a maximum in February or

The Arctic seems to be a never-ending source of dismal climate news, particularly when it pertains to sea ice. Let’s recap. Sea ice extent has set monthly record lows this winter (after setting a seasonal record low just last winter). In general, its extent is shrinking across all seasons. But what’s even worse news is the character of sea ice is

The season’s first surge of Arctic air made its way into the northern reaches of the continental U.S. this week, and it will spread eastward for the weekend. But it’s just a taste of what’s to come. A more intense surge of truly polar air will move in next week. Some of the coldest air in the northern hemisphere — yes, associated with the polar

As representatives of the world’s nations prepare to gather later this week to sign a landmark agreement to limit the human-caused warming of the planet, global temperature records continue to pile up. Not only was March 2016 handily the warmest March on record, according to data released Tuesday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric