Nature Communications, 19 March 2026 A reduction in western Eurasian snow cover played a pivotal role in the record-breaking January 2025 wildfires in Southern California. These proved the costliest in recorded history, claiming at least 31 lives and destroying more than 16,000 buildings, obliterating nearly all structures across nearly 80 square miles. Its unusual timing […]
Nature Scientific Reports, 17 March 2026 Nine North American glaciers surveyed in 1957 during the International Geophysical Year as long-term benchmarks have experienced substantial losses in both volume and area due to global warming. Using satellite technology, researchers closely documented the evolution of these glaciers over the past seven decades and found that all have […]
Solar cooking can deliver meaningful benefits for the cryosphere by reducing emissions that accelerate snow and ice melt. Around 2.1 billion people rely on fuels such as wood, charcoal, and kerosene for daily cooking. These fuels emit carbon dioxide as well as black carbon and other short-lived climate pollutants that travel through the atmosphere and […]
NSIDC and NASA’s Earth Observatory, 27 March 2026 Arctic sea ice has spread to its greatest area or “maximum extent” for 2026, as occurs each year around the spring equinox (March 20-21), when the sun has returned to the entire Arctic Ocean and sea ice stop its winter growth and begins the melt season; reaching […]
Atmospheric Science Letters, 5 March 2026 Melting polar sea ice will weaken the frequency and intensity of winter storm systems known as Western Disturbances this century under high emissions, reducing winter precipitation and snow accumulation in the Himalayas, which support major river systems across South Asia. Western Disturbances are extratropical storms that originate in the […]
Nature Communications, 13 March 2026 Rough ridges in Arctic sea ice create habitats that sustain exceptionally diverse microbial communities, which face increasing risk with rising temperatures. These ridges store frozen organic material in the winter, and transform into hotspots of algal productivity in summer, holding up to eight times more algae than nearby smooth ice […]
National Snow and Ice Data Center, March 2026 As of March 2026, satellite observations indicate that this year’s Arctic sea ice maximum extent is on track to place lowest on record, following very closely with the record-breaking low set in 2025. Sea ice grows throughout the winter as temperatures freeze before reaching its annual maximum […]
The Arctic Ocean is under increasing pressure from climate change, with sea ice loss as well as ocean acidification, warming, and freshening occurring more rapidly in the Arctic compared to the rest of the global ocean. This event brought together a range of voices to discuss what is needed to protect this vulnerable ecosystem. They […]
PNAS Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, 2 March 2026 Satellite radar observations from 1992-2025 show concentrated areas of rapid retreat of the “grounding line,” where where this massive ice sheet meets the ocean floor. These regions include Wilkes and George V Lands in East Antarctica; the Bellingshausen Sea, Amundsen Sea, and Getz Ice Shelf sectors […]
Nature, 4 March 2026 A review of 385 coastal hazard studies published between 2009 and 2025 found that more than 99% of them inadequately integrate sea levels with land elevation data, often underrepresenting coastal risk. About 90% of studies relied on “zero elevation geoid models” rather than measured sea-level data, which led to systematic errors. […]
AGU Geophysical Research Letters, 6 March 2026 This study found a statistically significant increase in the rate of warming since 2015, even after accounting for natural sources of temperature variability such as El Niño events, volcanic eruptions, and solar variation. Adjusting for these factors reduced short-term variability in the temperature record and revealed that the […]
Nature Communications Earth & Environment, 24 January 2026 Arctic warming is thawing carbon-rich permafrost, which contributes additional greenhouse gas emissions. Some of this thaw occurs gradually, but some occurs in “abrupt thaw” events, for example in association with wildfires, or when a hillside collapses and leads to exposure of permafrost soils. Many global models however […]
Next week in Paris, policymakers, science experts, and stakeholders will close the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation (IYGP) and kickstart the Decade of Action for Cryospheric Sciences from March 18-19 at UNESCO. Dedicated sessions and side events will highlight the vital links between the cryosphere, water resources, and gender equality. The full program and registration […]
Communications Earth & Environment, 26 February 2026 For thousands of years, emperor penguins have relied on stable, coastal sea ice to safely molt, a vulnerable period when they regrow waterproof feathers and cannot enter the ocean to feed. However, recent record-low Antarctic sea ice has caused some of these platforms to melt before molting was […]
Danish Meteorological Institute, 16 February 2026 Greenland’s west coast experienced its warmest January on record, with Nuuk recording the highest monthly average temperature in its measurement history and multiple towns setting new monthly highs along a 2,000-kilometer stretch of coastline. In Nuuk, the monthly average surpassed the 1991-2020 climate norm, while Ilulissat exceeded its previous […]