The Arctic
Consisting of deep ocean covered by drifting pack ice and surrounded by continents and archipelagos around the Earth's North Pole, the Arctic is the planet's largest and least fragmented inhabited region.
Why the Arctic matters
A rich habitat for life
Warming faster than anywhere else in the world
Eight countries, global significance
Vast resources are becoming available
Where we work
What's new
NEWS
The meltdown we can’t afford
Next week’s release of the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC): The Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (SROCC) coincides with another bad year for the Arctic. This summer saw record heatwaves across the region, unprecedented wildfires and reports of marine ecosystem collapse. So, what is the cryosphere and what do we expect the SROCC report to tell us about the current state and future of our frozen places?
Published 20 September 2019
