Because of these changes, invasive species are threatening the native species that are adapted to a colder climate. Svalbard is on the verge of “a novel climate”, characterised by winters without very low temperatures (above -20☌) and summers with extended growth seasons (above 5☌). Although, this not in itself evidence of human-induced climate change, it is in line with what climate models project as normal conditions in the future. The mean temperature in Arctic Longyearbyen in the Norwegian Svalbard Archipelago during January-March in 2015 was about 6 degrees warmer than normal for this time of year. Even half of such a rise in temperature will fundamentally change this region as we know it today. In a business-as-usual scenario, temperatures may increase by 8-10☌ in the Arctic. Climate models project that the most pronounced warming in the future will happen in the Arctic. The Arctic is undergoing changes unknown to have occurred during the last 1450 years and probably longer (IPCC, 2013). In recent years, this has resulted in melting glaciers, rapid ecosystem changes, diminishing sea ice, and changes in atmospheric circulation and ocean properties. It is a documented fact that no region of the planet is experiencing more dramatic climate change than the Arctic. Low clouds over the mountains and chunks of ice floating of Port Lockroy research station, Antarctica, Polar Dr Jan-Gunnar Winther, Director of the Norwegian Polar Institute, explains how a dramatically warming Arctic heralds global changes to come
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