Last February was not only the second hottest month in the world ever. During the whole winter period from the beginning of December to the end of February in Europe, the temperature was 3.4 degrees Celsius above the average of 1981-2010. Thus, this winter temperature record was broken. According to the data, the late summer in Antarctica was warmer than average, Australia was colder, and temperatures in Siberia and Central Asia were significantly higher than the average for February. Scientists measured 850 thousand square kilometers less sea ice in the Arctic Ocean at this time of year. This almost corresponds to the total surface area of France and Italy. Abisko village in the north of Sweden is an area where the annual average temperature goes above and below the zero limit due to climate change. The annual temperature in the region has been fluctuating since 1960, but it is also rising gradually. ‘We have lost our cold winters’ So what’s going on there? Winter is happening in Abisko village in Sweden. This means snow, ice and an average temperature of -15 degrees. This place looks like the regions that are usually frozen in the north of the Arctic circle. However, under all these profits lies major signs of change. Climate scientist Keith Larson explains what all this means. Trees and temperature data from this age-old weather station show that Abisko is warming at least twice as fast as the rest of the world. Larson says this is due to feedback loops – when the snow and ice melt, it reflects the sun’s rays less, causing it to melt faster. “Since 1989, it has been hot every year, except 2010. This does not mean that it is not cold in the winter, this is the Arctic anyway. But we have lost our cold winters,” Larson says. At the tourist center in Abisko National Park, all of the exhibits are dedicated to changes in the local landscape and what this means for plants and animals living here.
