Svalbard Winter Warming Rises Above Melting Point of Ice

Nature Communications, 21 July 2025

Winter air temperatures exceeded 0°C for 14 days during February 2025 in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, setting a new record and triggering widespread snow and ice loss. When winter warming exceeds 0°C, it marks more than just a warm anomaly – it signals a fundamental shift in Arctic winter dynamics with long-term environmental consequences, including decreased ice formation, increased microbial decomposition in permafrost soils, and an altered carbon cycle with harmful impacts on the global carbon budget and local biodiversity. The record-breaking temperatures observed in February 2025 were not an isolated occurrence: winter warming events such as these have grown increasingly common in recent decades, reshaping Arctic landscapes and signaling a dramatic shift towards a new Arctic.

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