Arctic Report Card documents dramatic changes in the Arctic

Twenty years ago, the first Arctic Report Card was released by scientists who observed a rapidly changing Arctic and who keenly felt the need to provide updates of those changes to the public, said Climate Specialist Rick Thoman during a press conference rolling out the findings of the 20th Arctic Report Card in New Orleans, LA.
This year’s Arctic Report Card is adding to the data set that chronicles among other things accelerating sea ice loss, warming ocean and air temperatures, and the consequences it has not only on the Arctic ecosystems or communities, but also for the rest of the globe.
The report card is released by the federal National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.
Over the years, Thoman, with the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Preparedness at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, has contributed to the annual reports. He stressed the value of the regular update. “Every year does not have a record but cumulatively, it provides an invaluable resource for where we’ve been and a guide to where we’re going,” he said.
And the future of the Arctic, according to the report, is one of profound and fast changes. The devastating aftermath of ex-typhoon Halong, slamming into Western Alaska, is a preview of what’s in store as the air and sea continues to heat up.
Matthew Druckenmiller, lead editor of the 2025 Arctic Report Card and scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado, Boulder said at the outset of last week’s press conference rolling out the 2025 Arctic Report Card: “Let us start by first acknowledging that the warming of our planet, driven by human greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere, is amplified in the Arctic.”
As the Arctic warms at a faster rate than the globe overall, the loss of sea ice and snow causes more of the sun’s heat to be absorbed into the land and ocean, creating a feedback cycle. “This past year, the Arctic experienced the highest temperatures on record since at least 1900,” Druckenmiller said before rattling off alarming statistics: Between October 2024 and September 2025 the Arctic experienced the highest temperatures on record, included the warmest autumn, second warmest winter and third warmest summer, ever observed.
The report card, a peer-reviewed record produced by 112 scientists from 13 countries, takes “vital signs” in the form of air and sea temperatures, precipitation, snow and Greenland ice sheet measurements, the greening of the tundra, and the ocean’s productivity of marine algae. Snapshots of the vital signs include: Arctic fall and winter temperatures are rising twice as fast as the rest of the world, since 2006; the 18 lowest sea ice extents occurred within the last 18 years; Arctic precipitation is increasing, mostly in the winter, and June snow cover has decreased by half since 1967. And over the last year, the Greenland ice sheet had a loss of a staggering 129 billion tons of ice, contributing to 0.1 inches worldwide ocean sea rise.
Unpredictable ice conditions make life dangerous for those living and working in the Arctic but unseasonably early sea ice decrease causes phytoplankton bloom to increases at wrong time of year, which creates misalignments when this critical food is available and when species that depend on it are able to feed on it, disrupting the overall food chain, said Druckenmiller.
“It also increases the likelihood of harmful algal blooms that introduce toxins into the food chain,” he added.
University of Alaska Fairbanks scientist Gabriel Wolken presented on a phenomenon called “Atlantification” – warmer and saltier sea water currents transported from the Atlantic to the north, contributing to deep ocean warming and affecting the Greenland ice sheet. Wolken said that the Greenland ice sheet holds enough ice to raise the global sea level by 23 feet, a prospect that is worrisome as the sheet shows steady long-term decline. Glaciers are also melting faster than they grow and this loss is causing immediate, local hazards such as glacial lake outburst floods and tsunamis caused by massive landslides.
Gerald Frost, Ph.D. at UAF, presented on the tundra greening and the effects a warming atmosphere has on “profoundly reshaping the tundra.” He reported that the Arctic experienced its wettest year on record, including a phenomenon called atmospheric rivers which deliver heavy amounts of snow and rain. However, the snow cover is shrinking fast, most notably, June snow has decreased by 50 percent. This alters vegetation, animal behavior and increases wildfire risks.

Rusting Rivers
Abagael Pruitt, Ph.D. Department of Environmental Toxicology, University of California Davis presented on the increasing appearance of rusty, orange-colored rivers and streams in Alaska. She stated that the changes observed in the last ten years coincide with the dramatic increase of ground and air temperatures, suggesting thawing permafrost soils. As the soils warm, she says, water transports minerals that were locked-up in permafrost are carried into streams, causing the discoloration of previously clear water to rusty orange, called acid rock drainage. The orange color comes from oxidized iron, but the scientist also found acid and toxic concentrations of zinc, copper and aluminum. Pruitt stressed that more research needs to be done to understand the causes and consequences. Nearly 200 streams in the Brooks Range and the Kobuk Valley are affected. In the Kobuk Valley National Park the researchers observed complete loss of juvenile Dolly Varden and spiny sculpin in a river that had turned orange. She said there are concerns about drinking water supplies as some concentrations of metals like cadmium, nickel, manganese exceeded EPA drinking water criteria or WHO drinking guidelines, she said.

Community led research and monitoring
Hannah-Marie Ladd is the director of Indigenous Sentinels Network, a program by the Aleut Community of St. Paul Island, to help Alaska Native communities monitor their environment. The Arctic Report Card details how the people of St. Paul Island have spent over 20 years building and operating their own observation system, drawing on research partnerships with outside scientists while retaining control over monitoring, data and sharing of results. The Indigenous Sentinels Network tracks environmental conditions ranging from mercury in traditional foods to coastal erosion and fish habitat and is building local climate resilience in one of the most rapidly changing environments on the planet. Ladd emphasized the lived experience of Arctic changes by the people who live here.
“These changes cascade directly into people's lives, affecting fisheries, coastal safety and subsistence harvests,” Ladd said. “We are no longer just documenting warming. We are witnessing an entire marine ecosystem, which is tied to our economies and culture, transform within a single generation.”
The Trump administration considers human-caused climate change a “hoax” and pursues policies to deregulate the production of oil, gas and coal while dismantling climate change protections and defunding renewable energy efforts. The scientists present at the press conference were asked if they were pressured by the White House or censured. No, was the answer. They presented this peer-reviewed report card without interference from the administration.
A reporter noted the lack of a formal press release that usually accompanies the roll-out of the Arctic Report Card and the cuts to products put out by the National Snow and Ice Data Center. She asked if NOAA is committed to future Arctic Report Cards? The acting chief scientist of NOAA, Steve Thur, responded tersely: “We are here today. And we have also continued our long-term observations in the Arctic, both with satellite observations but also in situ measurements. One of the things the community can rely upon is our efforts to continue to observe the planet.”
On the ground, this stated commitment is not lived. For example, the long collection of snow data – snow fall and snow on the ground – has been discontinued in 2019. National Weather Service stations in western Alaska, including the Nome office, closed their doors. Twice daily “weather balloons” are automatically send out but this has also hit a snag. These balloons collect upper air observations but on Saturday afternoon none of the balloons between Cold Bay and Utqiagvik were deployed.  These data feeds climate analysis models that are used in the report card.
“To observe the Arctic is to take the pulse of the planet,” reads the first sentence of the report card’s executive summary, underscoring that what happens in the Arctic does not stay here, but has reverberations across the globe.