Svalbard, March 13th:
The last time there was this much sea ice around Svalbard on this day of the year was 1998, with 532,969 sq km. That was the 3rd highest in our 54 year record, and this year is only exceeded by, in ascending order, 1989, 1969, 1979, 1977, 1998, 1997 and 1978
This
article states that the Barents Sea has become cooler because the water coming in with the Norwegian Atlantic current, which is the continuation of the Gulf Stream, has been cooler.
Trend has been upwards but in the last 5 years have been cooler.
Researcher Randi Ingvaldsen puts it down to natural variation.
Ocean temperatures in the Barents Sea vary naturally. That is, the temperatures go up and down over time.
- It is well known that the Barents Sea has become much warmer over the last 40 years. But in recent years we have seen a decline, and that is part of natural fluctuations that will always be present
- This does not change that a continuous global temperature rise raises the temperature curve, so that both the highest and the lowest temperatures are generally higher than before.