Polar Prem 🦭(Prem Gill)

Heat map-style graphic showing monthly air temperature rankings in the Arctic at the 925 hPa level for each month from January 1979 to January 2026. There is a long-term warming trend evident in each month. Blue shading is shown for colder months, and red shading is shown for warmer months. A yellow number is shown for each grid box to display the actual temperature ranking. January 2026 was the 2nd warmest January on record.

#Arctic air temperature rank by month over the satellite era - now updated through January 2026...

+ Ranks: 1=warmest (red), 47/48=coldest (blue)
+ Download higher resolution: zacklabe.com/arctic-tempe...

An aerial view of seals on a floating ice floe. Text says Exclusive member lecture, seals from space: with Prem Gill, Thursday 29 January, 16:00-17:00, online

Calling all RSB members - don't forget to sign up for this week's member-exclusive webinar, 'Seals from Space', exploring the cutting-edge methods being used to study Antarctic ice seals.

📆 Thursday 29 January, 16:00 - 17:00, online

Find out more and book your place: my.rsb.org.uk/item.php?eve...

Drones detect deadly virus in Arctic whales' breath Whale breath collected by drones is giving clues to the health of wild humpbacks and other whales.

“The researchers used drones carrying sterile petri dishes to capture droplets from the exhaled breath of whales…they confirmed for the first time that a potentially deadly whale virus, known as cetacean morbillivirus, is circulating above the Arctic Circle.”

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Was searching for details of a panel I was on regarding the use of AI in science and wildlife storytelling, and found myself mentioned in a blogpost covering the topic. It feels so odd to see yourself written about but luckily it was all nice! #phd #academia

❄ November 2025: Arctic sea ice extent ranked second-lowest for November in the 47-year satellite record at 12% below average. Antarctic extent was the fourth-lowest for the month, 7% below average.

Find out more ⬇️

The 2025 state of the climate report: a planet on the brink We are hurtling toward climate chaos. The planet's vital signs are flashing red. The consequences of human-driven alterations of the climate are no longer

In our Climate Report my coauthors and I say: We are hurtling toward climate chaos. The planet's vital signs are flashing red. Consequences of human-driven alterations of the climate are no longer future threats but are here now. Read report here doi.org/10.1093/bios...

Congrats! Curious to hear if you managed to spot many (or any) hauled out seals during the polar-night surveys?

PhD thesis submitted. Thank you to all the people who helped me get to this stage and those who kept me going through the final stretch.

@bas.ac.uk @wwf.org.uk #cambridgeuni

The Caspian Seal is the Caspian Sea’s only marine mammal. Each year adults head north to gather on ice and pup, molt on northern islands, then disperse to central & southern basins.

Slow-reproducing and commercially exploited, they are listed under CMS Appendices I & II: www.cms.int/sites/defaul...

In three days, our iconic red planes will take off from Canada to make the epic journey across the world to Antarctica.

These flights mark the start of a new polar science season.

BUT ALSO that means there's three days left to send your name to Antarctica with us! tickettoantarctica.com

I’m on vacation walking in the Dolomites.

Today I hiked near the Marmolada glacier - what was once a vast mass of ice is now streaked with bare rock and thinning fast.

Just looked it up: the glacier has retreated ~7 m in the past year alone

Climate change in action…
www.unipd.it/news/campagn...

🗺️NEW: BAS Map Catalogue is live!

Explore Antarctica and the Arctic through our collection of professional maps. Perfect for educators, adventurers, and polar enthusiasts. Many available on open licence for free download. #PolarMaps #Antarctica

Cumulus clouds spin around a broad area of high pressure over Texas today.

Polar stereographic map of sea surface temperature trends for Septembers from 1979 to 2024. Red shading is shown for warming trends, and blue shading is shown for cooling trends. All areas of the ocean are observing warming.

Sea surface temperatures are warming across the entire periphery of the #Arctic Ocean in September.

This is especially observed in areas with long-term declines in sea ice concentration, such around the Chukchi and Kara Seas.

Data from NOAA OISSTv2.1. For more info arctic.noaa.gov/report-card/...

❄ August 2025: Arctic sea ice extent 12% below the 1991–2020 average for the month, ranking 8th-lowest on record. Antarctic sea ice extent ranked 3rd-lowest for August. More in the #C3S Climate Bulletin 👉 climate.copernicus.eu/sea-ice-cove...

I did! According to Mark Brandon: “Amazing picture. I think it’s a pic at Grytviken, the white building I think is the hydroelectric power plant and the wreck of the Louise” l.instagram.com?u=https%3A%2...

Emerging evidence of abrupt changes in the Antarctic environment - Nature Abrupt changes are developing across Antarctica’s ice, ocean and biological systems; some of these changes are intensifying faster than equivalent Arctic changes, potentially irreversibly, and their i...

Emerging evidence of abrupt changes in the Antarctic environment

Our study, lead by @climatenerilie.bsky.social
Published today

Line graph time series of 2025's daily Arctic sea ice extent compared to decadal averages from the 1980s to the 2010s. The decadal averages are shown with different colored lines with purple for the 1980s, blue for the 1990s, green for the 2000s, and white for the 2010s. Thin white lines are also shown for each year from 2000 to 2024. 2025 is shown with a thick gold line. There is a long-term decreasing trend in ice extent for every day of the year shown on this graph between May and August by looking at the decadal average line positions.

🚨 Monday ice update - #Arctic sea ice extent is currently the *lowest* on record (JAXA data)

• about 350,000 km² below the 2010s mean
• about 1,010,000 km² below the 2000s mean
• about 1,590,000 km² below the 1990s mean
• about 2,150,000 km² below the 1980s mean

More: zacklabe.com/arctic-sea-i...

Three years left to limit warming to 1.5C, top scientists warn - BBC News The Earth could be doomed to breach a key climate target in as little as three years, scientists warn.

We have 3 years before we burn through the carbon budget for 1.5°C

World leaders promised action in 2015. Since then:

🔥 Record fossil fuel use
🌲 More deforestation
📈 Rising emissions

This isn’t a lack of solutions. It’s a lack of will.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Breaking news: it appears Emperor penguin populations in Antarctica are declining faster than predicted.

Latest satellite data shows a massive 22% drop in penguin numbers over the last 15 years in key regions.

This is more than double the rate of loss that experts had expected...

🧵 1/8

In sheep we trust.

Hello! 👋

We're thrilled to launch our new Bluesky account and can't wait to share all things Arctic with you! Watch this space for all our latest news, stories, opportunities and events!

Congrats to Alex! I was trained by co-author Andrew on how to use field spectroscopy equipment. Small world.

This week I had my penultimate council meeting as a Trustee of the Royal Geographical Society. I’ve had an incredible time helping guide the society and trying to make geography for all. My role on the Expeditions and Fieldwork committee is now up for election.

👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

Oh my days

World's sea-ice falls to record low The world's frozen oceans keep the planet cool, but they currently have less ice than ever recorded before.

Sea ice in the Arctic and around Antarctica cool our climate, drive ocean circulation across the planet, and provide a unique habitat for polar ecosystems.

Sea ice amounts have now fallen to their lowest since we started measuring them. This is not good.

🌊🥼❄️🧪

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Really proud to have some of our Wildlife from Space projects featured in the AGE OF AI exhibition at Bletchley Park.

#bluesky in the UK today. 6 degrees Celsius.

Calling all my Polar Pals. A friend from Cornwall stumbled upon this photo of elephant seals that she found on the ground in while taking out the rubbish. I’m wondering if anyone can ID the location? I want to say it’s South Georgia but I’m not sure.