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THE World Meteorological Organisation is seeking to verify an unprecedented temperature reading of 38ºC in the Russian Arctic town of Verkhoyansk.
The weekend reading would be a record for a region north of the Arctic circle, alarming scientists, who warn that global temperatures are rising even faster than feared.
University of Michigan environmental school dean Jonathan Overpeck said that “the Arctic is figuratively and literally on fire — it’s warming much faster than we thought it would in response to rising levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, and this warming is leading to an increase in wildfires.”
Temperatures in north-central Siberia have averaged 8ºC above average from January to May this year. Scientists worry that melting permafrost in the huge region is releasing carbon dioxide trapped underground while pasture land turns to swamp, though the exposure of long-frozen Ice Age animals is of scientific interest. Melting permafrost renders ground unstable and is also seen as a factor in the huge diesel spill from an installation in Norilsk last month.
