The Arctic Is 'on Fire,' Record Heat Alarms Scientists

Over the weekend, the Russian town of Verkhoyansk in Siberia reported a temperature of 38 degrees Celsius¹.

The World Meteorological Organization said Tuesday that it is looking to confirm that temperature reading. After all, Siberia is known for being frozen².

Experts are worried about what this record high temperature in the Arctic³ Circle might mean for the rest of the world.

The environmental group Berkeley Earth reported that from January through May, the average temperature in north-central Siberia was been about 8 degrees Celsius higher than normal. "That's much, much warmer than it's ever been over that region in that period of time," said Berkeley Earth climate scientist Zeke Hausfather.

Jonathan Overpeck is a climate scientist with the University of Michigan. He said "alarm bells should be ringing" because such extended warmth in Siberia has not been seen for thousands of years. In an email to The Associated Press, Overpeck described the Arctic as "on fire."

"It's warming much faster than we thought it would in response to rising levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere," he wrote.

The temperature on Earth has been growing, on average, by 0.18 degrees Celsius every 10 years. In the Russian Arctic Circle, it has been increasing by 0.69 degrees Celsius, said Andrei Kiselyov. He is the lead scientist at the Moscow-based Voeikov Main Geophysical Observatory⁴.

The increasing temperatures in Siberia have been linked to wildfires and the melting of ice on land forms known as permafrost. The melting permafrost, in turn, releases more heat-trapping gas, dries out soil and increases wildfires.

"In this case it's even more serious, because the previous winter was unusually warm," said Vladimir Romanovsky, who studies permafrost at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

A recent oil spill near the Arctic city of Norilsk was partly blamed on melting permafrost. Last August, more than 4 million hectares of forests in Siberia were on fire. And, fires are burning already in the Arctic, ahead of the usual fire season start in July, said Vladimir Chuprov of the environmental group Greenpeace Russia.

The warm weather, wildfires and melting of permafrost affect global warming by releasing large amounts of methane⁵, a greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere. Methane is 28 times stronger than carbon dioxide.

Marina Makarova is chief meteorologist at Russian weather agency Rosgidromet. She said the temperature in Verkhoyansk remained unusually high from last Friday through Monday.

Makarova added, "The ground surface heats up intensively...The nights are very warm, the air doesn't have time to cool and continues to heat up for several days."

For those who live in the Russian Arctic Circle, a heat wave has its good side. Vasilisa Ivanova spent every day this week swimming and sunbathing⁶ with her family.

"We spend the entire day on the shore of the Lena River," said Ivanova, who lives in the village of Zhigansk, about 430 kilometers from where the heat record was set.

I'm Caty Weaver⁷.

Words in This Story

alarm bell - n. a bell that sounds when an alarm is activated⁸

response - n. something that is done as a reaction to something else

greenhouse gas - n. gas that causes the warming of the earth's atmosphere, known as the greenhouse effect

previous - adj. earlier in time

meteorologist - n. a scientist of the atmosphere and weather

1 Celsius   

adj.摄氏温度计的，摄氏的

参考例句：

• The temperature tonight will fall to seven degrees Celsius.今晚气温将下降到七摄氏度。
• The maximum temperature in July may be 36 degrees Celsius.七月份最高温度可能达到36摄氏度。

2 frozen   

adj.冻结的，冰冻的

参考例句：

• He was frozen to death on a snowing night.在一个风雪的晚上，他被冻死了。
• The weather is cold and the ground is frozen.天寒地冻。

3 Arctic   

adj.北极的；n.北极

参考例句：

• They flew over the unlimited reaches of the Arctic.他们飞过了茫茫无边的北极上空。
• The sort of animal lived in the Arctic Circle.这种动物生活在北极圈里。

4 observatory   

n.天文台，气象台，瞭望台，观测台

参考例句：

• Guy's house was close to the observatory.盖伊的房子离天文台很近。
• Officials from Greenwich Observatory have the clock checked twice a day.格林威治天文台的职员们每天对大钟检查两次。

5 methane   

n.甲烷，沼气

参考例句：

• The blast was caused by pockets of methane gas that ignited.爆炸是由数袋甲烷气体着火引起的。
• Methane may have extraterrestrial significance.甲烷具有星际意义。

6 sunbathing   

n.日光浴

参考例句：

• tourists sunbathing on the beach 在海滩上沐浴着阳光的游客
• We've been sunbathing on the beach. 我们一直在海滩上晒日光浴。

7 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

8 activated   

adj. 激活的 动词activate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The canister is filled with activated charcoal.蒸气回收罐中充满了活性炭。