Best wishes for a happy, healthy and peaceful 2019.
This has been a difficult year for people in the North. As you may have read, the effects of climate change are exacerbated in the Arctic as compared with the temperate parts of the earth. See, e.g., https://www.washingtonpost.com/energy-environment/2018/12/11/arctic-is-even-worse-shape-than-you-realize/?utm_term=.1a04265969aa
A very oversimplified explanation is that historically the polar ice reflected solar energy back into the atmosphere. Melting sea ice has a "double whammy" effect -- the exposed ocean does not reflect solar energy, but, even worse, the dark ocean surfaces absorb solar energy and contribute to warming the earth's surface. As the surface warms, more ice melts, more ocean is exposed, which absorbs more heat . . . An unhealthy feedback loop.
The resulting change in weather patterns is disrupting long-established migration patterns for Arctic wildlife. This presents serious problems for the Inuit in Alaska, many of whom are subsistence hunters. Success in hunting there depends on knowing when and where to find game.
