2016 temperatures at the North Pole are unusually high this year

Temperatures at the North Pole are unusually high for the second year in a row. The North Pole (also called the Arctic Circle) is set to be 50 degrees warmer than normal, with temperatures approaching 32 degrees Fahrenheit (0 degrees Celsius).

Winter temperatures at the North Pole can range from about −58F to 9F, (−50C to −13C), averaging around −24 °F (−31 °C). However, a freak storm caused the temperature to reach 33F (0.7C) for a time at a World Meteorological Organization (WMO) buoy at a station located at 87.45°N, on 30 December 2015. So last winter was the warmest ever at the North Pole, and it’s happening again this winter.

Summer temperatures (June, July, and August) average around the freezing point at 32F (0C). So the temperatures right now are summer conditions, rather than the usual winter temperatures.

MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

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