The Arctic can seem like a remote place, disconnected from daily life, unless you’re one of the 4 million people living there. But changes in the Arctic due to rising temperatures could seriously impact life around the world. Coastal flooding is increasing in many communities as Arctic glaciers and the Greenland ice sheet transfer meltwater to the oceans.

Heat-trapping gases released by Arctic wildfires and melting tundra are rapidly entering the air, contributing to man-made emissions that are warming the world. Changes in the Arctic could lead to unusual and extreme weather events, pressure on food supplies, and increased threats from wildfires and associated smoke.

In the 2024 Arctic Report, published on December 10, we brought together 97 scientists from 11 countries, with a wealth of expertise on everything from wildlife to wildfires, sea ice to snow, to report on the state of the Arctic environment. They describe the rapid changes they witnessed in the Arctic and the consequences for people and wildlife that affected all parts of the world.

The pace of change in the Arctic is increasing

The modern Arctic is strikingly different from the Arctic even a year or two ago. Over the 19 years of the Arctic Report Card’s existence, we and many of the report’s authors have seen the pace of environmental change accelerate and challenges become more complex. Over the past 15 years, the snow season in the Arctic has been one to two weeks shorter than in the historical period, changing the timing and nature of the seasons. Shorter snow seasons can harm plants and animals that depend on regular seasonal changes. Longer snow-free seasons can also reduce water supplies and increase the likelihood of drought as snow melts in early spring or summer.

Sea ice coverage, an important habitat for many animals, has shrunk so much that today’s mostly thin and seasonal sea ice landscape is unrecognizable from the thicker, larger sea ice of past decades.

As the sea ice season shortens, the dark ocean surface is exposed and can absorb and store more heat during the summer, which then escapes into the air, warming the ocean. This is consistent with observations of long-term warming of Arctic surface waters. Animals that depend on sea ice may also be forced ashore or suffer prolonged starvation. The shipping season in the Arctic is also getting longer; Shipping traffic increases rapidly every summer.

Overall, 2024 brought the Arctic the second warmest temperature since records began in 1900 and the wettest summer on record.

Arctic tundra becomes source of carbon

For thousands of years, the arctic tundra landscape of shrubs and permafrost, or permafrost, served as a sink of carbon dioxide, meaning that the landscape took in and stored this gas that would otherwise trap heat in the atmosphere.

But the permafrost in the Arctic was warming and melting. After thawing, microbes in permafrost can break down long-stored carbon into carbon dioxide and methane. The gases that trap this heat are then released into the atmosphere, causing even more global warming. The size and intensity of fires have also increased, releasing more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and lengthening the wildfire season.

These changes have pushed the limits of the tundra ecosystem. Susan Nathalie and her colleagues discovered that the Arctic tundra region is now a source rather than a sink or sink of carbon dioxide. It was already a source of methane due to melting permafrost. The Arctic’s natural ability to help buffer human heat-trapping gases is depleting and the urgency to reduce human emissions is increasing.

Sharp regional differences make planning difficult

The Arctic Report Card covers October to September of each year, with 2024 being the second warmest year on record for the Arctic. But for people living in the Arctic, the experience may seem like a regional or seasonal weather shock.

Sharp regional weather differences can make planning difficult and challenge familiar seasonal patterns. These include very different conditions in neighboring areas or significant changes from one season to the next. For example, last year there was more snow than usual in some parts of North America and Eurasia during the winter months. Despite all this, the Canadian Arctic experienced the shortest snow season in 26 years. Early winter snow loss can strain water supplies and worsen dry conditions, increasing fire danger.

The Arctic summer was the third hottest on record, and parts of Alaska and Canada saw record daytime temperatures during the August heat wave. But residents of Greenland’s west coast experienced an unusually cool spring and summer. Although the Greenland ice sheet maintained a 27-year ice loss record, the loss was less than in recent years.

Ice seals, caribou and humans are feeling the change

Rapid warming in the Arctic is also affecting wildlife in different ways. As Lori Quackenbush and colleagues explain in this year’s report, populations of Alaskan ice seals, including ringed, bearded, spotted and banded seals, are now healthy despite shrinking sea ice and warming ocean waters in their habitats in the Bering, Chukchi and Beaufort Seas.

However, ringed seals eat more saffron cod than the more nutritious polar cod. Arctic cod is very sensitive to water temperature. As water warms, they are shifting their range northward and becoming less common on continental shelves where seals feed. So far the negative impact on the seal population and health is not yet evident.

On land, the large reindeer herds living in the interior of the country are decreasing significantly. There is the impact of climate change and human roads and buildings. Some indigenous communities that have depended on specific herds for thousands of years are deeply concerned about their future and their impact on the food, culture, and the region’s complex and interconnected living systems. Some smaller coastal flocks are doing better.

The indigenous peoples of the Arctic have a deep knowledge of their region that has been passed down over thousands of years, allowing them to thrive in an inhospitable region. Today their observations and knowledge are a vital support for Arctic communities forced to adapt quickly to these and other changes. Supporting indigenous hunters and gatherers is inherently an investment in long-term knowledge and stewardship of Arctic places.

Action for the Arctic and the world

Despite global agreements and bold targets, human emissions of heat-trapping gases are still at record levels. And natural landscapes such as the arctic tundra are losing their ability to contribute to reducing emissions.

At the same time, the effects of climate change are increasing, such as the intensification of Arctic forest fires, impacts on buildings and roads due to permafrost melting, and flooding and coastal erosion as sea levels rise. Impacts are complex plants and animals on which humans depend.

Our 2024 Arctic Report Card continues to sound the alarm, reminding everyone that minimizing future risks in the Arctic and across all our cities requires working together to reduce emissions, adapt to losses and build resilience for the future. We’re in this together.