KCAL News Meteorologist studies climate change in the Arctic Circle

The Arctic Sun has long since dipped below the horizon, plunging the world into 24 hours of darkness.

The region stretching across northern Norway is a vital indicator of the health of our planet. Changes in Arctic weather, such as warmer winters as well as unstable atmospheric conditions, are already evident. As an atmospheric scientist, KCAL News Meteorologist Marina Jurica said the Arctic is at the front line of these changes as temperatures there are rising four times faster than the global average. 

"We do see a lot of changes in the climate up here," said Lucia Mandelkow, a Norway marine historian. "A year ago, we had a new weather report that said our winters in Tromso are getting 30 days shorter than they were before. We used to have constant snow from November until April, and now the snow doesn't really stick on the ground until it's January."

One of the most visible signs of change is in the wildlife. Warmer waters are shifting migration patterns, bringing more whales like humpbacks and orcas further north.

 "From 2017, the herring that used to live in the fjords around Tromso migrated to the area of Chauvet and now we have billions of these fish here in Chauvet," Mandelkow said. "All the whales follow after and just try to eat as much as they can to feed before long migrations."

Mandelkow said the changing climate makes it very challenging for plants and animals. She gave the example of reindeer and how they need stable snow to be able to feed. But when it starts to freeze and there's a layer of ice in between the layers of snow, they can't dig down.

Tromso lies at 69 degrees north, which is right in the middle of the Aurora Oval, a ring-shaped zone that is around the geomagnetic poles, which makes it very likely that you'll get to see the Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights.

The aurora is the visual representation of a solar storm. In Jurica's research, she found that increased solar activity has the potential to amplify warming trends. The concern is that human-driven climate change is already so pronounced that natural variations, like solar cycles, may intensify extreme weather patterns rather than counteract them. By studying the aurora above the Arctic Circle, researchers can see those patterns develop.

Lucia – 16:40 – "You can see all over the world. You can see the warm places getting even hotter," Mandelkow said. "You can see the winters are getting much more harsh than before. It starts everywhere, so everybody contributes to the climate change."

The Arctic warming isn't a local issue, it's a global one. It affects ocean currents, weather systems, and even the air people breathe. But there is hope. Scientists, policy makers, and communities can come together for the shared future.