It’s pretty great that it’s almost 6pm and it’s not dark yet. Let’s hear it for gaining almost 7 minutes a day!

Losing the USDA Climate Hubs would be a great loss for farmers, ranchers, and foresters across the nation. www.kcur.org/environment-...

As I say here, there is no scientific justification to revoke the engagement finding. In fact, over the last 15+ yrs, the evidence of how climate change affects our health has only grown. Higher risk of allergies, dementia, fertility, heart disease, and death: that’s what’s on the line. @nature.org

Whitehorse FD firefighters showed up even while on duty to hear about Fire Weather at last night's jam-packed @johnvaillant.bsky.social event! (They stood at the back in case they got called to a fire while the talk was ongoing... 🔥)

The scientific understanding of human-driven climate change is much stronger today than it was in 2009 when the EPA first issued the endangerment finding. There is no scientific basis for the Trump administration's decision to repeal it

10:40 40 degrees (steady these days) Went to sleep to the rain hitting my tin roof, now there are drops off every twig and branch Methinks itʼs a good day to be cozy inside #myalaskawx #cbjuneau

The wind chill at Point Lay, (North Slope, Inupiat country) has been lower than -40F/C pretty all of February (so far). #akwx #Winter2026 @climatologist49.bsky.social

The SAVE Act 2.0 is a direct attack on Tribal sovereignty. Tribal ID would be rendered worthless at the ballot box under their plan. Millions of Native voters would be silenced. This isn't just a policy—it’s an erasure. #HandsOffHerVote

Current view from Point Lay, Alaska, where the wind chill is in the -70Fs and the visibility is under 1/4-mile with blowing snow. @alaskawx.bsky.social

Month-to-date temperature departures for the Lower 48. Note the ever shrinking blue/purple areas.

Current wind chills in northern Alaska. At Point Lay (far left), the current wind chill is -72F (temp -35F and north wind at 26 mph). They had a wind chill as low as -78F earlier this morning. Umiat has a current wind chill of -70F. It was as low as -78F yesterday. @alaskawx.bsky.social

A cold few days at Umiat (North Slope, Inupiat country). Low temperature of -56F (-48.9C) Tuesday is the lowest temperature since February 2022. #akwx #Winter2026 @climatologist49.bsky.social

Lots of great info this week at the Climate and Cryosphere Open Science Conference. Everything from cutting edge ice sheet process studies to Indigenous prospectives from Alaska and Aotearoa New Zealand. Nice mix of grad students, early career folks up to venerable veterans. #CliC2026

I'm tracking the latest monthly-averaged observations of global methane (CH₄; a potent greenhouse gas)... October 2025 - 1946.47 ppb October 2024 - 1940.79 ppb + Data: gml.noaa.gov/ccgg/trends_... + Why the change in trends? www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

The warm February keep getting warmer.

AWI’s gain is IARC’s loss

January 2026 was the 5th warmest January on record for our planet. Temperatures were much colder than average across large parts of the extratropical Northern Hemisphere. In contrast, Australia had its 4th warmest. Summary by @copernicusecmwf.bsky.social at climate.copernicus.eu/surface-air-... 🌊🧪⚒️

Update from last week re: ongoing impacts from October's ex-typhoon Halong. "Bryan Fisher, director of the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management…said with the scale of destruction, the rebuilding effort will take years." #akwx #ExtremeEvents alaskabeacon.com/2026/02/05/o...

Alaska January Climate Summary just dropped. @alaskawx.bsky.social

Congrats to @drljv.bsky.social for her award by the International Glaciology Society, presented this morning @clicwcrp.bsky.social

Slow but steady accumulation today, measuring 8.5 cm as of 3:30 pm in #GanderWest with more yet to come. A wet snow event, with 10.9 mm water equivalent (SLR ~ 8:1). Temperature 0.4°C. #nlwx

Fun on the return hike from Wickersham Dome yesterday. Look how high the Sun was! Full photo set from the day: photos.lwpetersen.com/Date/2026/Fe... #alaska #hiking #winter

Seems cold. @alaskawx.bsky.social

Chilly this morning

Amidst the world gloom, in a Wellington eatery on a sunny summery Monday evening, it lifted my spirits to hear a young child, maybe 4 years old, speaking Maori to her father. I know it’s not uncommon, but still good to hear.

wow! kipnuk is voting to relocate their village alaska doesn’t have reservations, but the native village of kipnuk is a federally recognized tribe could you imagine your tribe having to vote on relocating to a safer area because of climate change? dozens of alaskan tribes have/will have to soon

Faint aurora bands over a moonlit and snow-covered forest in Fairbanks, Alaska. Check out more in my aurora galleries: photos.lwpetersen.com/Galleries/Al... #alaska #aurora #northernlights #auroraborealis

Finally, some good news.

Sea ice extent in the Bering Sea increased 17 percent in the past week with sustained north winds. Ice reached St. Paul Island (Pribilofs) but main pack ice stayed just to the north. Overall extent near the 1991-2020 median in NSIDC data but higher than any time last season. #akwx #Arctic #SeaIce

The aurora last night in Beaver, Alaska was just incredible. This is a real-time video (not sped up) of the crazy motion I saw. Also, look how BRIGHT it is, wow!

Look how fast the Arctic Ocean is warming during the month of February over the last four decades... Data from @copernicusecmwf.bsky.social ERA5 reanalysis.

Having linguistics training and a hobby interest in dialects of English, wondering around downtown Wellington, NZ listening to people talk is fascinating. Naturally a variety of NZ dialects, Australian, Indian, North American dialects, and that’s just in 24 hours. 🙂 #NewZealand #EnglishDialects

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) averaged about 429 ppm in January 2026 10 years ago January averaged about 403 ppm Data available at gml.noaa.gov/ccgg/trends/

The air is so clear in Anchorage right now that you can stand on the ground and see Denali, over 200 miles away

Sitka, AK. 8:39 am

The January 2026 Arctic and Alaska climate review is now posted. Not entirely a coincidence, at the regional scale, significant departures from normal in both directions, just like parts of the mid-latitude Northern Hemisphere. #akwx #Arctic #Climate alaskaclimate.substack.com/p/january-20...

What Don said ⬇️

FEMA approves additional areas to qualify for disaster relief following West Coast storms, writes @corinne-smith.bsky.social for the @alaskabeacon.com alaskabeacon.com/briefs/fema-...

After work Friday Blueskies. Honestly feel like my poor photography skills and phone camera do these vistas no justice. #Alaska #Alaskasky #Fairbankssky

The January 2026 Arctic and Alaska climate review is now posted. Not entirely a coincidence, at the regional scale, significant departures from normal in both directions, just like parts of the mid-latitude Northern Hemisphere. #akwx #Arctic #Climate alaskaclimate.substack.com/p/january-20...

Almost one in four Alaska workers doesn’t live in the state, new report concludes, writes @alaska.bsky.social for the @alaskabeacon.com alaskabeacon.com/2026/02/06/a...

The end of a beautiful day.

A few things all cult leaders have in common: 1. Bottomless need for money, sex, and validation. 2. Demand for 100% loyalty 3. Isolating people from their friends and families 4. Everyone who doesn't follow and worship them is misguided and deranged. Sound familiar?

Someone explain to me why the men’s names are redacted?

Friday ice update - #Arctic sea ice extent is currently the 4th lowest on record (JAXA data)... • about 140,000 km² below the 2010s mean • about 790,000 km² below the 2000s mean • about 1,380,000 km² below the 1990s mean • about 1,800,000 km² below the 1980s mean More: zacklabe.com/arctic-sea-i...

Meanwhile, no meaningful precipitation in Finland in this year so far. Snow depths are exceptionally low in central Finland despite the cold January. Incredibly stuck pattern!

New: Officials told lawmakers this week they estimate $125 million in Western Alaska storm damage so far, and a major cleanup and rebuilding effort will begin again this summer. alaskabeacon.com/2026/02/05/o...

A few photos from our Sunday trip up Miller Creek to a cave in the terminus of the Canwell Glacier and some phenomenal ice crystals. I've got a post up now with a lot more photos from the trip here: www.lwpetersen.com/photo-blog/b... #alaska #hiking #winter #glacier #icecave

New hazards to be analyzed in Alaska’s updated statewide threat assessment, @yjrosen.bsky.social for the @alaskabeacon.com alaskabeacon.com/briefs/new-h...

The cold spell in northern Europe is not going anywhere. Next two weeks look again very cold as there will be another outbreak of Arctic air mass from the northeast. What a cold Jan-Feb period in the making!