
North Pole surges above freezing in the dead of winter, stunning scientists - SirLJ
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2018/02/26/north-pole-surges-above-freezing-in-the-dead-of-winter-stunning-scientists/?utm_term=.a08b2b96636b
======
alejohausner
In case WaPo won't show you the page, here is the same story from the Weather
Network:

[https://www.theweathernetwork.com/news/articles/arctic-
storm...](https://www.theweathernetwork.com/news/articles/arctic-storms-bring-
another-winter-heatwave-to-north-pole/79190)

------
akkat
why does this website say that it is -24?
[https://www.yr.no/place/North_Pole/Other/North_Pole/](https://www.yr.no/place/North_Pole/Other/North_Pole/)

~~~
Piskvorrr
_Forecast_. By modelling, not by measuring - i.e. "this is what our model says
is most likely to happen"; apparently the weather is not very predictable ATM.

~~~
akkat
I don't understand. Is the temperature now at the north pole above freezing,
if so where can I see the temperature? Is WaPo forecasting that the
temperature will be above freezing? According to the article:

> While there are no direct measurements of temperature there, Zack Labe, a
> climate scientist working on his PhD at the University of California at
> Irvine, confirmed that several independent analyses showed “it was very
> close to freezing,”

What does that mean? Do they not have a device measuring the temperature at
the north pole at all times?

~~~
Piskvorrr
It's a frozen (or not) ice at sea, one the most remote places on Earth. How
would you suggest such device to function? (Could be possibly solved, but it's
surprisingly nontrivial.) South pole is at least somewhat stable; but you can
buy a cruise to the North pole on an icebreaker.

~~~
akkat
I guess my knowledge of the north pole is really bad. When I look at google
maps or any other globe, I see that the North Pole, similarly to the south
pole, is full of ice. Are you saying that that is not the case? Are there no
scientific stations there?

~~~
Piskvorrr
Note the map at right (Wikipedia):
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Pole](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Pole)
\- while the South Pole is on the Antarctic continent, it's all floating ice
up north, even though it's usually several meters thick. While historically
the arctic polar expeditions used sleds, nowadays people mostly sail there -
either in submarines, or on icebreakers.

(Apparently Russians tend to float a temporary station nearby, but no
permanent bases - as the ice is always moving:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barneo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barneo) )

