Arctic Becomes Net Carbon Source

For the first time in recorded history, the Arctic has flipped from being a carbon sink to a carbon source. Carbon dioxide and methane locked for millennium in the frozen tundra is being released by record high temperatures and wildfires. NOAA's 2024 Arctic Report Card shows surface temperatures in the Arctic reaching the warmest since 1900 when accurate record keeping began.  

Since 2003 circumpolar wildfires have emitted nearly 400 million tons of carbon, that is two and half times the total emissions of Canada.  Scientists are not sure if the change is permanent, or can be rectified by proper climate action.  The massive boreal forest that surrounds the North Pole still. captures a lot of carbon. 

Along with warmer temperatures, the Arctic is experiencing more rainfall.2024 was a record for rainfall in the Arctic.  Warmer temperatures have disrupted wildlife.  Caribou have decreased in number by 65% over the last two or three decades.  Ice seal populations seem to be holding steady, but are increasingly out of reach of their main predator, polar bears, due to the lack of reliable sea ice they use to hunt seals.  Arctic warming, which joins the Amazon in sending a carbon emission signal is not a good sign according to climate experts, and will have consequences for human communities around the world.