From the Guardian:

“The Arctic’s rapid transformation into a less frozen, hotter and biologically altered place has been further exacerbated by a year of wildfires, soaring temperatures and loss of ice, US scientists have reported.

“The planet’s northern polar region recorded its second hottest 12-month period to September 2020, with the warmest temperatures since 1900 all now occurring within the past seven years, according to an annual “Arctic report card issued by the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa).

“The Arctic is heating up at a rate around double that of the global average, due to the human-caused climate crisis.”

How about Siberia, eh?

“Some places were abnormally hot in 2020, with parts of Siberia 9F (5C) above the long-term average in the first half of the year. In June, the Siberian town of Verkhoyansk reached 100.4°F, the hottest temperature ever recorded north of the Arctic Circle.”

How about that ice, eh?

“Meanwhile, Arctic sea ice shrank to its second lowest summer extent in the 42-year satellite record in 2020, with the loss of ice and surging ocean heat causing a burst of ocean plant growth and altered behavior of bowhead whales.”

How about Canada, eh?

“A tumultuous year in the Arctic has seen the last fully intact ice shelf in Canada collapse after losing more than 40% of its area in just two days, while thawing permafrost caused a disastrous oil spill in Russia after a fuel tank collapsed.”

On top of the sea level rises, it’s setting off possibly unstoppable climate feedback loops that keeps me on edge.

Thankfully, there is still wine to drink on Earth, and where there is wine, there is hope.

Bon weekend!

[Cover photo: Natalie Thomas/Reuters]