If warm Arctic conditions suggest continued global warming, then why doesn colder-than-usual weather in my region suggest global cooling?
We note recent Arctic weather conditions in our reports because they help us understand if weather has affected the ice this season. The year’s weather conditions in the Arctic do not create or indicate climate warming, just as a cooler season in any region of the Earth does not mean that climate is cooling. One season’s weather could either speed up or slightly slow down the loss of Arctic sea ice this year, but it will not change the climate trend and the basic causes of warming. Climate is a measure of the average conditions over a long period of time, so it is a better way to tell if changes may be persistent. Climate records show that the Arctic has warmed substantially over the past decades. The Arctic continues to warm faster than any other region of the world. Global data still show the Earth to be warming on average. Scientists expected that the Arctic could warm faster than other places on Earth, because of the way the Arctic interacts with the global climate system. Arctic w
