Report Card 2022

Over recent decades, Arctic air temperatures have warmed at a greater rate relative to global means.

Many components of the Arctic land surface are directly influenced by snow cover from fall through spring, including the surface energy budget, ground thermal regime, permafrost, and terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems.

Globally, precipitation over land has likely increased since 1950, consistent with increases in total atmospheric moisture. Climate models project an increase in Arctic precipitation, a transition from snowfall- to rainfall-dominated climates, and a higher frequency of heavy precipitation events.

Ice loss from the Greenland Ice Sheet has immediate and global influence on sea level rise, with impacts including coastal erosion, saltwater inundation of freshwater resources, and increased flooding frequency.

As the frozen interface between the ocean and atmosphere, sea ice plays a key role in the Earth’s climate and polar ecosystems.

Arctic SST is an essential indicator of the role of the ice-albedo feedback cycle in any given summer sea ice melt season.