Longest Arctic Sailing Season Tops Off a Year of Climate Disasters
Record temperatures in the Arctic are benefiting natural gas exporters, who are speeding up warming by sailing more ships.
The Polarstern arctic research vessel in April 2020.
Source: Michael Gutsche/Alfred-Wegener-Institut
Thinning ice in the Arctic Ocean made this year’s navigation season for natural gas tankers the longest on record, the latest sign that the pace of climate change is accelerating in the Earth’s northernmost latitudes.
The Northern Sea Route, stretching more than 3,000 nautical miles between the Barents Sea west of Russia and the Bering Strait in the country’s east, traditionally opens from June through October, when higher temperatures break up ice. This year, voyages started a month early and will continue until at least the end of December. Record warmth meant slower freezing during the autumn.