Global temperatures are rising, but temperatures in the Arctic region are rising even faster.
Studies suggest a grim reality: that the Arctic is warming nearly four-times faster than the rest of the world.
The loss of sea ice is one of the most cited reasons. When bright and reflective ice melts, this amplifies the warming because the ocean surface absorbs more heat from the Sun than the surface of snow and ice.
The consequences of this go way beyond just the Arctic. The melting permafrost and rising sea-levels can have devastating effects on local ecosystems as well as the climate.
The northern soils also contain vast stores of mercury that has been frozen for a long time, which can move into food webs and fish with the melting of ice.