Summer of 2023 Was Arctic’s Warmest Summer on Record: NOAA Arctic Report Card

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has released its annual Arctic Report Card for 2023, and the findings show that amid rising global temperatures in what is likely to be the hottest year ever recorded, 2023 was the warmest summer on record for the Arctic.

The 2023 Arctic Report Card found that warming, caused by humans, is affecting humans and ecosystems in the Arctic. This region warms faster than any other part of the world, according to NOAA.

“The overriding message from this year’s report card is that the time for action is now,” Rick Spinrad, NOAA administrator, said in a statement. “NOAA and our federal partners have ramped up our support and collaboration with state, tribal and local communities to help build climate resilience. At the same time, we as a nation and global community must dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions that are driving these changes.”

The report found that surface air temperatures in summer 2023 were the highest ever recorded in the Arctic at 20 degrees Fahrenheit (-7 degrees Celsius), although this was not the warmest recorded year as a whole for the region. The report noted that 2023 was the sixth-warmest year on record for the Arctic, with records dating back to 1900.

Sea ice continued to decline, and NOAA shared that the past 17 Septembers have had the lowest sea ice amount on record. Further, the highest point on the Greenland Ice Sheet experienced melting for the fifth time in 34 years. This high point, known as Summit Station, reached a temperature of 32.7 degrees Fahrenheit in June. The Greenland Ice Sheet as a whole lost about 350 trillion pounds of ice from September 2022 to August 2023, NOAA said.

The changes in sea ice and increasing temperatures have led to notable shifts for salmon. Sockeye salmon have thrived in warmer waters, but heat waves have led to declines in the numbers of Chinook and chum salmon. Record-low numbers of Chinook and chum salmon led to fishery closures and have impacted food security for Indigenous communities. 

The report card showed an increase in phytoplankton blooms in parts of the Arctic Ocean. While phytoplankton play an important role in marine ecosystems, rapid growth of these organisms, known as blooms, can kill marine life by depleting oxygen in the water, as NASA explained on its website.

Another concern raised in the report is the potential melting of subsea permafrost, which could release more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

NOAA highlighted in the report that it is critical to follow Indigenous communities’ knowledge and guidance on curbing environmental impacts of warming in the Arctic and making the region more resilient.