It is always hotter in the coldest places on the planet. In recent days, Greenland has recorded temperatures of up to 20 ° C to 30 ° C above seasonal averages. Mercury has even been positive in parts of the arctic island, according to the Danish meteorological institute, DMI.
If in Nuuk, the capital, it was 13 ° C on December 20, instead of the usual -5.3 ° C, in the northernmost city of the country, Qaanaaq, the mercury rose to 8.3 ° C. Far from the -20.1 ° C of the season.
“One of the reasons we see high temperatures is the foehn weather phenomenon.” Understanding a hot wind, quite common on the largest island in the world, explains Caroline Drost Jensen, a climatologist at DMI. Nevertheless, “It is a bit unusual for it to occur over such a large area and simultaneously over a long period”, specifies the specialist. Because this wind normally spreads over the coasts of the country, mostly to the west.
Little hope, these particularly high temperatures are not without precedent. Neither the absolute records nor the records of the last thirty years for a month of December have yet been broken.
Three times faster warming
But make no mistake, the threat of climate change is very real at the poles. “Global warming underlies the high temperatures we are currently seeing in Greenland, and makes them generally warmer. […] than previously”, summarizes the expert on the climate.
Already this summer, a heat wave with temperatures more than 10 ° C above seasonal norms had caused an episode of melting “Massive” of the ice cap in Greenland. 8,000 billion liters of fresh water were then released daily, ie double the average rate during the summer period.
Another strong signal of the ongoing disaster, it had rained in mid-August at the top of the highest point in Greenland, at an altitude of more than 3,216 meters. Never seen.