Arctic Amplification

The Arctic is warming roughly four times faster than the global average. As ice melts, darker ocean absorbs more sunlight, which melts still more ice — a self-reinforcing feedback loop.

Permafrost, ground frozen solid for thousands of years, is now thawing. It holds vast amounts of carbon, and as it thaws, microbes release methane and CO2 into the air. In Siberia, this creates massive sinkholes called thermokarst that swallow buildings and roads. Indigenous communities report landscapes transforming beyond recognition within a single generation.