'Earth's freezer is failing': Alaska snow vanishes, exposing planet's dangerous feedback loop
Produced by: Mohsin Shaikh
Snow Vanishes
Satellite images reveal Alaska’s snow disappearing at alarming rates, exposing bare ground visible even from space, as temperatures soar far above seasonal averages.
Credit: NASA Earth Observatory/Wanmei Liang
Melting Shield
The albedo effect reverses in the Arctic, with melting sea ice exposing dark waters that absorb heat, transforming the region from a refrigerator into a planetary radiator.
Credit: NASA SVS
Warming Spike
NASA reports that Alaska’s January temperatures were 7.2°C (13°F) above average, surpassing 36 U.S. states, signaling a dramatic acceleration of Arctic warming.
Heatwave Effect
Unusual weather in the North Pacific fueled a marine heatwave, worsened by a high-pressure ridge over Alaska, pushing temperatures to historic highs.
Representative pic
Climate Feedback
Melting sea ice triggers dangerous feedback loops, amplifying Arctic warming. NOAA warns that Alaska’s temperature anomalies ranged 5–10°F above normal.
Snowpack Shrinks
Climate models predict drastic reductions in Alaska’s snowpack by mid-century, threatening glaciers, increasing storms, and turning winter precipitation into rain.
Representative pic
Arctic Threat
"The Arctic is warming up to four times faster than the global average," NOAA confirmed, highlighting the region’s vulnerability to climate change impacts.
Rain Instead
With rain replacing snowfall in Alaska, NASA’s MODIS images show the stark transformation of the once snow-covered Bristol Bay Borough into exposed land.
Short Respite
A blast of Arctic winds briefly returned sub-zero temperatures in January, but forecasters predict warmer-than-average conditions will soon dominate again.