Nevertheless, air temperatures at the 925 hPa level (about 2,500 feet above the surface) were above the 1981 to 2010 average, up to 8 degrees Celsius (14 degrees Fahrenheit) above average north of Greenland and the Canadian Archipelago (Figure 2b).Ībove average temperatures were related in part to unusually low sea level pressure extending from Siberia across to Alaska, coupled with above average sea level pressure northeast of Greenland extending down towards Baffin Bay.

Yellows and reds indicate higher than average air pressures blues and purples indicate lower than average air pressures.Ĭredit: NSIDC courtesy NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory Physical Sciences LaboratoryĪs of October 31, sea ice extent is tracking higher than any year since 2015, as well as higher than observed in 2007, 2011, and 2012 (Figure 2a).Īverage monthly air temperatures were well below freezing across much of the Arctic Ocean in October, the exceptions being along the coastal regions of the Barents Sea and across the North Atlantic region. This plot shows the departure from average sea level pressure in the Arctic at the 925 hPa level, in degrees Celsius, for October 2021.