2018-19 Warmest Winter On Record For Northern Sea Route - 3.9 - 4.8C Peaks In Kara Sea, Chukota
The Russian Arctic is increasingly hot. The vast area that covers an overwhelming part of the country is undergoing unprecedented warming. At record speed. A new climate report from the Russian meteorological institute Roshydromet states that the polar parts of the country have become almost 2,3 degrees warmer over the past 30 years.
And in parts of the region, the heat is gaining breath-taking force. In the Kara Sea, average air temperatures in the period 1998-2018 were as much as 4,77 degrees above normal. In 2018, the biggest temperature deviation was found in the far eastern Chukotka Peninsula where the weather was 3,9 centigrades warmer than normal.
The meteorological institute has measured temperatures in the region since 1938 and never before registered this kind of warmth.
For the Russian government, the Arctic temperature increase is likely to be perceived with more satisfaction than concern. President Putin has made the Northern Sea Route a top political priority and his so-called May Decrees includes a boom in shipments along the route to as much as 80 million tons by year 2024.
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https://thebarentsobserver.com/en/arctic/2019/03/warmest-ever-winter-northern-sea-route