July is usually the warmest month in the area, but temperatures were 1 to 3 degrees Celsius above average this year. The shallow lake you see at the pole is made of meltwater sitting on top of a layer of ice, according to the observatory.
Arctic sea ice has become a noticeable victim of climate change. The area of ice cover expands and contracts every year with the change in seasons, but last summer’s minimum extent was the lowest on record and this year’s maximum winter coverage was the sixth-lowest since satellite observations began in the 1970s.
Weather patterns tend to go in cycles but scientists appear to agree that man-made pollution is an important contributing factor in the rising temperatures in the Arctic.
The North Pole is a lake now
