The Arctic climate was extraordinary in 2020, but the year ended with a less spectacular December.
News & Stories
Across the globe, snow and ice play a vital role in regulating Earth’s climate and providing freshwater resources to people, plants, and animals.
As Earth’s frozen regions change rapidly, NSIDC is committed to growing its research and open access data to better understand these changes. Read about NSIDC research and its contribution to science and policy making. Check out spotlights on how to use NSIDC data, tools, and resources. Learn about how we steward data and collaborate with scientists and organizations across the world to understand how the frozen parts of Earth affect the rest of the planet and impact society.
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News Release
As climate change warms the Arctic more than twice as fast as the rest of the planet, new challenges abound for the communities that live in the region, including food sovereignty, coastal erosion, increasing shipping traffic and more.
Spotlight
Analysis - Snow Today
December snow-covered area and snow cover days in the western United States were below average compared to the previous 20 years. Storms in mid-December bolstered the snow-covered area but not enough to bring it close to the December average.
Analysis - Ice Sheets Today
As the Southern Hemisphere enters into the full of swing of summer, parts of the Antarctic Ice Sheet are experiencing surface melting.
Spotlight
In September 2018, NASA launched the Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) to help scientists investigate why and how much the frozen parts of our world are changing as a result of globa