Climate change and Alaska

Recent climate warming is happening faster in Alaska and other cold-dominated biomes than anywhere on earth. Climate is warmer, leading to rapid loss of sea ice, thawing permafrost, shrinking glaciers, more extensive wildfires, pest outbreaks, northward movement of species, and amplification of local and global warming. These biophysical changes provide new opportunities for polar ocean transport and oil development but also make indigenous communities more vulnerable to flooding and coastal erosion, change the availability of subsistence resources, and compromise infrastructure, water supplies, and food storage. These clear trends provide opportunities to proactively shape the societal consequences of these changes.