Destruction of Alaska continues under record heat

Graphic by NOAA Graphic by NOAA Photo: NOAA Photo: NOAA Image 1 of / 75 Caption Close Destruction of Alaska continues under record heat 1 / 75 Back to Gallery

In a state that insulates the floors of buildings to avoid thawing out the permafrost beneath them, this is really bad news.

According to the latest data from NOAA: "For the first time in its modern climate history, Alaska's average spring temperature hit 32.0 degrees F, breaking a record set in 1998. A new warm record was also set for the warmest year to date."

And the news doesn't get any better looking back to April ...

The Alaska April temperature was record high at 33.3°F, 10.0°F above the 1925-2000 average and 0.4°F warmer than the previous record set in 1940. Record warmth was observed across the southern parts of the state with much-above-average temperatures for central and northern Alaska. Temperatures more than 12°F above average were observed across western parts of the state. Anchorage had its warmest April on record with a temperature of 43.5°F, 2.8°F warmer than the previous record set just last year. Parts of the Yukon River observed the earliest ice break up on record and Fairbanks observed a record-early 'green up', or start of the vegetation growing season.

In fact, as the site Climate Central notes, the past three January-May periods are among the four warmest in Alaska's records.

Rick Thoman, climate science and services manager for the NWS's Alaska region, told Climate Central that several factors had converged to keep Alaska so relatively toasty, including persistent high pressure systems over the region and warm waters off the coast. Early snowmelt has also exacerbated the spring heat. The effects of the elevated temperatures are readily apparent, Thoman told the site, with berries ripening weeks earlier than usual, very early "last frosts" and an early start to construction projects.

All of which means the frozen ground, the permafrost that has been solid for tens of thousands of years, is melting. The Alaska Public Lands Information Centers states:

Study results show that much of the undisturbed discontinuous permafrost south of the Yukon River has warmed significantly and some of it is thawing. That raises the possibility that roads, buildings, and other structures on thawed areas will collapse. Another problem could arise as well: As permafrost thaws it can release methane and carbon dioxide, gases that contribute to the green house effect and accelerate global warming.

Basically, Alaska as we all know it is turning into marshland and the consequences are likely to be troubling for us all.