Editing Arctic (section)

== Climate ==
{{Main|Climate of the Arctic|Climate change in the Arctic}}
[[File:Laponie001.jpg|thumb|A snowy landscape of [[Inari, Finland|Inari]] located in [[Lapland (Finland)|Lapland]] ([[Finland]])]]
The [[climate of the Arctic]] region is characterized by cold winters and cool summers. Its precipitation mostly comes in the form of snow and is low, with most of the area receiving less than {{cvt|50|cm}}. High winds often stir up snow, creating the illusion of continuous snowfall. Average winter temperatures can go as low as {{convert|-40|C}}, and the coldest recorded temperature is approximately {{convert|-68|C}}. Coastal Arctic climates are moderated by oceanic influences, having generally warmer temperatures and heavier snowfalls than the colder and drier interior areas. The Arctic is affected by current [[Climate change|global warming]], leading to [[climate change in the Arctic]], including [[Arctic sea ice decline]], diminished ice in the [[Greenland ice sheet]], and [[Arctic methane emissions]] as the [[permafrost]] thaws.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Radford |first=Tim |date=2020-09-02 |title=Arctic heating races ahead of worst case estimates |url=https://climatenewsnetwork.net/arctic-heating-races-ahead-of-worst-case-estimates/ |access-date=2020-09-03 |website=Climate News Network |language=en-GB |archive-date=4 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200904083815/https://climatenewsnetwork.net/arctic-heating-races-ahead-of-worst-case-estimates/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Dormann |first1=C. F. |last2=Woodin |first2=S. J. |date=February 2002 |title=Climate change in the Arctic: using plant functional types in a meta-analysis of field experiments: Meta-analysis of arctic experiments |url=http://doi.wiley.com/10.1046/j.0269-8463.2001.00596.x |journal=Functional Ecology |language=en |volume=16 |issue=1 |pages=4–17 |doi=10.1046/j.0269-8463.2001.00596.x |access-date=16 February 2023 |archive-date=30 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230630102048/https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1046/j.0269-8463.2001.00596.x |url-status=live|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The melting of Greenland's ice sheet is linked to [[polar amplification]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Tedesco |first1=M. |last2=Mote |first2=T. |last3=Fettweis |first3=X. |last4=Hanna |first4=E. |last5=Jeyaratnam |first5=J. |last6=Booth |first6=J. F. |last7=Datta |first7=R. |last8=Briggs |first8=K. |date=2016-06-09 |title=Arctic cut-off high drives the poleward shift of a new Greenland melting record |journal=Nature Communications |volume=7 |page=11723 |doi=10.1038/ncomms11723 |issn=2041-1723 |pmc=4906163 |pmid=27277547 |bibcode=2016NatCo...711723T}}</ref>

Due to the poleward migration of the planet's isotherms (about {{cvt|35|mi|order=flip}} per decade during the past 30 years as a consequence of global warming), the Arctic region (as defined by [[tree line]] and temperature) is currently shrinking.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/content/planet-peril-%E2%80%93-part-i |last=Hansen |first=Jim |title=The Planet in Peril – Part I |publisher=Yale Center for the Study of Globalization |date=19 October 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091015173024/http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/content/planet-peril-%E2%80%93-part-i |archive-date=15 October 2009}}</ref> Perhaps the most alarming result of this is Arctic sea ice shrinkage. There is a large variance in predictions of Arctic [[sea ice]] loss, with models showing near-complete to complete loss in September from 2035 to sometime around 2067.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kirby |first=Alex |date=2020-08-11 |title=End of Arctic sea ice by 2035 possible, study finds |url=https://climatenewsnetwork.net/end-of-arctic-sea-ice-by-2035-possible-study-finds/ |access-date=2020-09-03 |website=Climate News Network |language=en-GB |archive-date=15 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200915162323/https://climatenewsnetwork.net/end-of-arctic-sea-ice-by-2035-possible-study-finds/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Reich |first=Katharine |date=2019-11-15 |title=Arctic Ocean could be ice-free for part of the year as soon as 2044 |url=https://phys.org/news/2019-11-arctic-ocean-ice-free-year.html |access-date=2020-09-03 |website=phys.org |language=en |archive-date=30 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200930154138/https://phys.org/news/2019-11-arctic-ocean-ice-free-year.html |url-status=live}}</ref>