Permafrost, ground frozen for at least two years underlying the cold Arctic and alpine regions of the Northern Hemisphere, covers about 17% of the global land surface and stores an estimated one-third of the world's soil organic carbon.

The US and Canada want more icebreakers to counter Russia and China in the Arctic, as the polar region — and competition for it — heats up.

NUUK, Greenland — Denmark is leading a military exercise with hundreds of troops from several European NATO members in Greenland, a maneuver that coincides with months of tensions over the Trump administration’s desire for U.S. jurisdiction over the vast Arctic territory.

Sea ice floating atop the Arctic Ocean reached its minimum extent for 2025 on Sept. 10, covering 4.602 million square kilometers (1.78 million square miles) concluding this year’s summer melt-out. That’s far from a record low and represents a recovery,

The U.S. military said it and its allies are prepared to counter adversary attempts to expand influence or military capabilities in the Arctic region.

The Arctic is thawing, but navigating its icy waters is still a major concern. As nations from the US to China and Russia look to tap minerals, oil, and gas fields at the top of the world — and gain a military edge — they’re building out their fleets of icebreaker ships.

For further information, please see our "This year is yet another low extent for Arctic sea ice," said senior scientist Walt Meier. "While not a record low, it is consistent with an Arctic sea ice environment that is fundamentally changed from two decades ago.

For the past three months the chatter of the Arctic Tern colony has served as the soundtrack of the summer breeding season. The Arctic Tern is not the only bird that spends its breeding season in the Arctic.

As climate change drives earlier spring conditions in the Arctic, bird species that travel there to breed there are under pressure to migrate faster. A new study led by researchers from the University of Amsterdam and the Netherlands Institute of Ecology reveals that many Arctic-breeding waterfowl still have some flexibility when it comes to speeding up their migrations.

Crew members aboard the Admiral Golovko, a frigate with the Northern Fleet, fired a Zircon missile at a sea target in the Barents Sea, Russia's government said on Sunday. The Admiral Golovko has been known to carry Zircon missiles for several years.

Douglas McIntyre, Editor-in-Chief at Climate Crisis 24/7, reports that melting Arctic ice has opened new shipping lanes across the top of the world. These routes could save hundreds of millions in global trade costs by bypassing the Panama and Suez canals.