Abstract

The average annual surface air temperature anomaly over land north of 60° N for October 2016-September 2017 was the second highest (after 2015-2016), in the observational record beginning in 1900.
Arctic air temperature continues to increase at double the rate of the global mean air temperature increase.
Extreme Arctic-wide air high temperatures were observed in autumn 2016 (October-December); extensive regions over the central Arctic showed anomalies exceeding +5° C. These conditions were primarily due to southerly winds moving warm air into the Arctic from the mid-latitude Pacific and Atlantic oceans.
Neutral temperature anomalies occurred across the central Arctic Ocean with weak sea level pressure gradients. Like summer 2016, summer 2017 weather conditions did not support rapid summer sea ice and ice sheet loss.