Arctic winter temperature rose 3 degrees since 1990

December 8, 2015 Interfax, RBTH
Wrangel Island in Chukotka, famous as “the home of the polar bear”, was only discovered relatively recently – just 162 years ago. To protect the fragile ecosystems on this island from the destructive effects of human activity, a law was passed in 1976 declaring Wrangel Island and the neighbouring Gerald Island as special protected zones. Barring the few people that work at the nature reserve and the staff at the arctic meteorological station who study the island’s ecosystems, there are no humans on the island, and it is recognised as a UNESCO world heritage site for its unspoilt natural environment.
Wrangel Island in Chukotka is famous as “the home of the polar bear”. Source: Bezrukov & Bashnaeva

The average Arctic winter temperature has risen three degrees Celsius since 1990, Russian Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology Sergei Donskoy told a seventh High-Level Assembly of the Climate and Clean Air coalition.

The average ice cover in the Arctic sea has halved since 1980, he said.

"Already this region is characterized by a three-degree rise in the average winter temperature since 1990 and a decrease by more than half of the average ice cover since 1980, from 7.5 million square meters down to 3.5 million," the minister said.

"The Russian Federation continues to actively cooperate in the special region - the Arctic - on the platform of the Arctic Council. We fully support strict adherence to ecological standards here, given that the price of error in the Arctic is too high," Donskoy said.

Read more: Beauty and the Polar Bear: An Arctic explorer's diary>>>

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