Arctic Sea Ice Plummets To Staggering Low In May, While CO2 Levels Hit Record High

Last month saw the biggest year-over-year jump in atmospheric levels of heat-trapping carbon dioxide on record — 3.76 parts per million. And that, reports NOAA, took May 2016 to the highest monthly levels of CO2 in the air ever measured — 407.7 ppm.

At the same time, the National Snow and Ice Data Center reports the warming-driven death spiral of Arctic sea ice hit a staggering new May low. May 2016 saw Arctic sea ice extent drop “about 600,000 square kilometers (232,000 square miles) below any previous year in the 38-year satellite record.”

“We’ve never seen anything like this before,” explained NSIDC director Mark Serreze. “It’s way below the previous record, very far below it, and we’re something like almost a month ahead of where we were in 2012.”

Whether this September beats the record minimum Arctic sea ice extent set in September 2012 depends on the weather this summer, which makes predictions difficult. That said, “Persistent Arctic and sub-Arctic warmth expected to continue for months,” as Alaska Dispatch News recently reported.

The Arctic has been setting records for warmth. In May, key portions of the Arctic ocean were 4-5°C (7-9°F) above the 1981 to 2010 average.

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