Surface air temperature [Arctic essays]

• Main Authors: Overland, J., Hanna, Edward, Hanssen-Bauer, I., Kim, S.-J., Walsh, J.E., Wang, M., Bhatt, U.S., Thoman, R.L.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: NOAA 2016
• Subjects: F890 Geographical and Environmental Sciences not elsewhere classified; Arctic; Arctic Ocean; Novaya Zemlya; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://eprints.lincoln.ac.uk/id/eprint/26152/; http://www.arctic.noaa.gov/Report-Card/Report-Card-2016/ArtMID/5022/ArticleID/271/Surface-Air-Temperature

•The average annual surface air temperature anomaly over land north of 60° N for October 2015-September 2016 (+2.0° C, relative to a 1981-2010 baseline) was by far highest in the observational record beginning in 1900; this represents a 3.5° C increase since the beginning of the 20th Century. •Arctic temperatures continue to increase at double the rate of the global temperature increase. •Extreme Arctic-wide air warm temperatures in winter 2016 (Jan-Mar) greatly exceeding the previous record; several locations showed January anomalies exceeding +8° C. These conditions were primarily due to southerly winds moving warm air into the Arctic from mid-latitudes and the presences of sea ice free areas to the northeast of Novaya Zemlya. •Neutral to cold temperature anomalies occurred across the central Arctic Ocean in summer 2016; a condition which did not support rapid summer sea ice loss.