Delhi:
Arctic temperatures have been hit more than 36 degrees Fahrenheit above normal as polar night bears down on the region.
In parts of Arctic Russia, experts say the a nomalies even went beyond 40 degrees.
The shocking temperatures come as the earth is on track for its warmest year on record after October temperatures equaled the third-warmest for the month ever, a U.S. government agency said.
For the second year in a row, abnormally warm air is stunting the normal autumn growth of Arctic sea ice and some of the temperatures around the Arctic Circle are more like late summer than the week before Thanksgiving.
Experts are confused by the exceedingly high temperatures that brings long periods of darkness, and usually, frigid temperatures.
Though October marks the start of a refreezing period, when the ice cover grows thicker and stronger following the summer melt, sea ice in the Arctic has hit a new low.
Data from Climate Reanalyzer shows how temperatures today have climbed upwards of 36 degrees Fahrenheit above the daily average.
In a provisional statement released this week, from the World Meteorological Organization on the status of this year's global climate, scientists predicted that 2016 will be the hottest year on record.
In a provisional statement released this week, from the World Meteorological Organization on the status of this year's global climate, scientists predicted that 2016 will be the hottest year on record.
And, the data shows few areas have been hit as hard as the Arctic.
'In parts of Arctic Russia, temperatures were 6°C to 7°C [42.8-44.7°F] above the long-term average,' said Petteri Taalas, WMO Secretary-General.
'Many other Arctic and sub-Arctic regions in Russia, Alaska, and northwest Canada were at least 3°C [37.4°F] above average.
'We are used to measuring temperature records in fractions of a degree, and so this is different.'
