The Arctic is Hot

This year, Canada has experienced high average temperatures, especially in the Arctic. If the trend continues, it will be one of the hottest on record since 1850, just behind 1998 and 2005. We have to take caution here not to fall into the trap that so many do. Some people would take this and say, "temperatures are lower now than in 1998." But the reality is that it's the overall trend that matters and temperature has been increasing since the industrial age.

It's very important to make sure the Arctic doesn't melt along with its permafrost. Inside the permafrost there are gas bubbles composed of methane. This will do much more to raise temperatures than carbon dioxide. We should commit to reducing our emissions and preventing ourselves from sliding down a slippery slope.

In a report released Thursday at the climate summit in Cancun, the United Nations agency said the global average temperature in 2010 was tracking to be one of the three warmest since readings began to be taken in 1850, just behind 1998 and 2005.

Read more at the Globe and Mail.

Related articles

• Siberia's Climate Time Bomb: Thawing Permafrost Could Spell Disaster (huffingtonpost.com)
• 2010 to be among three warmest years, UN says (calgaryherald.com)