The Arctic's Role in Global Climate
Unlike the mid- and tropical latitudes, the Arctic, whose surface reflects rather than absorbs heat, registers the impacts of pollution faster and more noticeably than the rest of the planet. A result is that the Arctic now is warming at twice the rate of anywhere else. This carries tremendous implications for global weather systems and, consequently, for the planet’s survival. The current rate of warming is of an intensity that is 
causing the unprecedented demise of the vast Greenland ice sheet, the disappearance of semi-permanent Arctic Sea ice, and a decline of the region’s characteristic permafrost. This last phenomenon, in particular, has the potential to accelerate the release of stored carbon and methane into the atmosphere, more than several hundred times current emissions of CO2. In turn, this will only intensify warming already occurring. The earth’s geological record tells us that the planet has moved rapidly from frigid to warmer conditions. Small changes in conditions at the poles appear to have been a precursor of these tremendous climatic events.
Learn more about the science here.
causing the unprecedented demise of the vast Greenland ice sheet, the disappearance of semi-permanent Arctic Sea ice, and a decline of the region’s characteristic permafrost. This last phenomenon, in particular, has the potential to accelerate the release of stored carbon and methane into the atmosphere, more than several hundred times current emissions of CO2. In turn, this will only intensify warming already occurring. The earth’s geological record tells us that the planet has moved rapidly from frigid to warmer conditions. Small changes in conditions at the poles appear to have been a precursor of these tremendous climatic events. Learn more about the science here.