Extreme weather and record-breaking
heat captured headlines

around the globe in 2023,
as the rate of warming in the Arctic

continued to significantly exceed
that of our planet as a whole.

The Arctic in 2023 saw unprecedented
summer heat

with the sixth highest annual surface
air temperatures on record,

and the sixth lowest minimum sea
ice extent,

as Arctic-wide
the sea's surface continued to warm.

Within,
and in areas adjacent to the Arctic,

precipitation exceeded
long-term averages across all seasons.

The Greenland Ice Sheet lost significant

mass in 2023, and with Arctic warming,
satellite records show

tundra ecosystems
undergoing a dramatic transformation

as greening increases. The trend
toward a warmer, wetter, and greener

Arctic is clear, but regional
and seasonal variations remain high.

A warm spring and very early snow melt over
northern Canada

set the stage
for its worst wildfire season on record,

forcing evacuation of many communities.

Local communities and Indigenous peoples
across the Arctic continue

to experience
outsized impacts of these climate changes.

Coastal observers
from Indigenous northern Alaskan

communities are using their knowledge
and observations

of long-term changes and impacts,
such as the loss of sea ice

and increasing intensity
and frequency of storms, to support tribes

in planning for, and adapting to, hunting
and traveling conditions.

In Western Alaska, unprecedented

extremes have been observed in salmon
populations, from record highs of sockeye

in Bristol Bay
to record lows of Chinook and chum

in the Yukon River
and other Bering Sea drainages.

Stress from altered freshwater and marine
ecosystems,

ocean predation, disease,
bycatch, and food supply imbalances

are contributing to diminished
runs of smaller, younger-maturing salmon,

reducing productivity
and increasing uncertainty

for Indigenous communities who have relied
on these fisheries for millennia.

Much like the ocean,

peatlands play a critical climate role
by limiting the amount of carbon entering

and warming the atmosphere. In Finland,
an ambitious restoration

and rewilding effort has revitalized
drained and mined peatlands,

along with the ecosystems
and traditional cultures

they support, offering a promising model
for some of Earth's

most valuable environments
that store critical amounts of carbon.

Far-reaching and long-lasting

environmental, biological,
and cultural shifts are accelerating

in the Arctic as a result of human-caused
climate change.

Successes such as those in Finland
demonstrate that with determined effort

we can restore ecosystems and positively
affect outcomes in the Arctic and beyond.