StrangeSights: A Christmas (tree) present for elephants; so cold in Finland even boiling water freezes, and, North Korea’s Kim Jong Un turns 40. Maybe…
DAVID ADAMS provides a round-up of some stories on the odder side of life…
Data collection challenges: Climate change thaws world’s northernmost research station
GLORIA DICKIE and LISI NIESNER, of Reuters, report on the difficulties facing scientists on Norway’s Svalbard archipelago…
Arctic blast grips US north-east, bringing frostbite-threatening temperatures
Worcester, Massachusetts, USReuters A powerful arctic blast swept into the US north-east on Friday, pushing temperatures to perilously low levels across the region, including New Hampshire’s Mount Washington, where the wind chill dropped to -79 degrees Celsius, forecasters said. Wind-child warnings were posted for most of New York state and all six New England states […]
The Long Read: Church helps mining community evolve in dark, warming Arctic
GIOVANNA DELL’ORTO, of The Associated Press, reports from Longyearbyen in Norway’s remote north…
Northern lights: In polar night, Norway-Russia kids event lights up Christmas
GIOVANNA DELL’ORTO, of Associated Press, reports from Barentsburg…
Canada and Denmark divide small Arctic island, ending ownership dispute
Copenhagen, Denmark Reuters Denmark and Canada will divide small, uninhabited Hans Island in the Arctic, eding an almost 50-year ownership spat, in a largely symbolic act of diplomacy designed to avoid tensions in the high North. The NATO allies have been engaged in a mostly good-natured squabble over the island, situated at equal distance between Greenland […]
Residents of Canadian Arctic capital told city water is unsafe to drink
Vancouver, CanadaReuters The capital of Canada’s Arctic territory has ordered its 7,000 residents not to drink the city’s water due to suspected fuel contamination. Iqaluit, the capital of Canada’s northernmost territory Nunavut, which borders Greenland, declared a state of emergency on Tuesday night, telling residents to stop using city water for drinking and cooking. Jackie […]
Winter sea ice in Bering Sea reached lowest levels in millennia – study
London, UKReuters The Bering Sea ice cover during the winters of 2018 and 2019 hit new lows not seen in thousands of years, scientists reported on Wednesday, adding to concerns about the accelerating impact of climate change in the Arctic. Satellite data provides a clear picture of how sea ice has changed over the last […]
“Canary in the coal mine”: Greenland ice has shrunk beyond return, study finds
Reuters Greenland’s ice sheet may have shrunk past the point of return, with the ice likely to melt away no matter how quickly the world reduces climate-warming emissions, new research suggests. Scientists studied data on 234 glaciers across the Arctic territory spanning 34 years through 2018 and found that annual snowfall was no longer enough […]
Indigenous people fighting for land rights
Rio de Janeiro, BrazilThomson Reuters Foundation Up to 2.5 billion people depend on indigenous and community lands, which make up more than half of all land globally, but they legally own just 10 per cent. The right of indigenous people to land and territories is protected by international legal conventions including the United Nations’ Declaration […]