Title: Alaska’s Changing Environment | IARC
Headings: Alaska's Changing Environment 2019
Alaska's Changing Environment 2019
Documenting Alaska's physical and biological changes through observations
Seasons
Big fire seasons more frequent
Dramatically more smoky days
Storminess not increasing
River break-up happening earlier

Content: Fall and winter warmer than average
2014–2018 average temperatures in most regions and seasons have been dramatically warmer than the average for 1981–2010. The exception is summer, when the past five years have been close to normal over much of the state. Greatest warming in west and north
Temperatures are rising all across the state, but not uniformly. The changes are largest over northern and western Alaska, where snow and especially sea ice losses are impacting the regional climate. Temperatures have risen least dramatically in southeast Alaska and the Aleutians, where seasonal snowpack changes and sea ice are more indirect factors. Utqiaġvik high temperatures
The abrupt change in air temperatures due to the loss of sea ice is nowhere more obvious than in Utqiaġvik (formerly Barrow) during the month of October. Direct heating from the sun is weak during October, so the autumn air temperatures are controlled by the amount of open water offshore of Utqiaġvik. Prior to 2002, many Octobers had extensive ice through the entire month or at least by late October, allowing for much lower temperatures. In recent years, open water remained late into fall, and air temperatures were consistently warmer relative to the past. Precipitation
Tongass National Forest. (