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Zack Labe
@zacklabe.com
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Climate Scientist at @climatecentral.org | PhD | Passionate about improving science communication through data-driven stories | Harrisburg, PA | https://zacklabe.com/

Views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are only my own.
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Zack Labe @zacklabe.com · Nov 30
🧵 Looking for (polar) climate data visualizations? Start here! 📈📉🧪⚒️🌊

+ Polar climate change: zacklabe.com/arctic-sea-i...
+ Global climate change indicators: zacklabe.com/climate-chan...
+ #Arctic sea ice extent: zacklabe.com/arctic-sea-i...
+ #Antarctic sea ice: zacklabe.com/antarctic-se...
zacklabe.com
A #MerryChristmas and #HappyHolidays to all of @bsky.app world! Have a great day! ❄️☃️

Here's a Sentinel-1 SAR satellite image north of Greenland and not too far from the North Pole (sea ice; www.polarview.aq/arctic)
SAR satellite imagery of sea ice north of Greenland from December 24th
December 25, 2025 at 12:44 PM
zacklabe.com
Christmas 2025 - temperature anomalies across the contiguous United States 🔥

Map from www.karstenhaustein.com/climate
Map of the lower 48 showing temperature anomalies at 2-m in °C for 25 December 2025 from the 18z GFS run. Temperatures are warmer than average for all states here. It is colder than average though in parts of Canada, especially western areas.
December 25, 2025 at 2:33 AM
zacklabe.com
Your #Christmas weather forecast for the North Pole...

Temperatures will start off around -18°C (0°F) and fall throughout the day. Skies will be overcast with low-level clouds, and there will be some fog for Rudolph to help navigate through Santa's flight! 🧑‍🎄🦌

Forecast by www.yr.no/en/forecast/...
Screenshot of a North Pole meteogram showing the forecast through 26 December 2025 for temperature, wind, and precipitation.
December 24, 2025 at 6:17 PM
zacklabe.com
Christmas Eve ice update - #Arctic sea ice extent is currently the *lowest* on record (JAXA data)

• about 570,000 km² below the 2010s mean
• about 1,180,000 km² below the 2000s mean
• about 1,730,000 km² below the 1990s mean
• about 2,080,000 km² below the 1980s mean

➡️ zacklabe.com/arctic-sea-i...
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, which is currently a record low for the current date. There is a long-term decreasing trend in ice extent for every day of the year shown on this graph between October and January by looking at the decadal average line positions.
December 24, 2025 at 2:40 PM
zacklabe.com
Most of the #Arctic is experiencing warming temperatures over the last four decades in December. This is even larger over areas with a loss of sea ice cover, such as the Barents-Kara Seas region.

Data from @copernicusecmwf.bsky.social ERA5. For more info: doi.org/10.1175/BAMS...
Polar stereographic map showing 2-m air temperature trends from 1979 to 2024 in December. Most all areas of the Arctic are warming, especially across the Barents Sea region.
December 24, 2025 at 1:42 AM
zacklabe.com
Things are really not good around the North Pole. Anomalous warmth continues, alongside record low #Arctic sea ice conditions. Nearly every time I check the data, there seems to be yet another new record this fall.

More graphics: zacklabe.com/arctic-tempe...
Line graph time series of daily Arctic temperatures north of 80°N latitude for every year from 1958 through 2025. There is a long-term warming trend for every day of the year and a clear seasonal cycle. 2025 is currently much warmer than average.
December 23, 2025 at 5:16 PM
zacklabe.com
The ice at Santa's workshop is melting away... #NorthPole 🎁🧑‍🎄

Check out my blog from November 2022 on this graphic at zacklabe.com/blog-archive...
December 23, 2025 at 12:57 PM
Reposted by Zack Labe
climatecentral.org
As 2025 wraps, we’re looking back at some of the Climate Central team’s favorite Climate Matters from the past year.

From memorable graphics to go-to story resources, these are the releases that stuck with us.

🧵Let's stroll through the resource library ⤵️
December 22, 2025 at 10:44 PM
zacklabe.com
Temperature anomalies (departure from average) around our planet for the last month (left), 3 months (center), and 12 months (right)... note the unusual "warmth" across both polar regions

Data from doi.org/10.24381/cds...
Three Robinson projection maps showing 2-m air temperature anomalies in November 2025, September 2025 to November 2025, and December 2024 to November 2025 across the globe. Red shading is shown for warmer anomalies, and blue shading is shown for colder anomalies. Most areas are warmer than average. The mean global near-surface air temperature anomaly for each map is also displayed in the upper-left corner. Anomalies are calculated relative to a 1981-2010 baseline. Data is from ERA5 reanalysis using the 2-m air temperature variable.
December 22, 2025 at 6:01 PM
Reposted by Zack Labe
copernicusecmwf.bsky.social
Our last Charts of the Month of the year with three charts based on #CopernicusClimate data: 
 
📈 2025 is on course to become joint second-warmest year - C3S 
📈 Surface Air Temperature Anomaly for November 2025 - C3S 
📈 Polar night and midnight sun in the polar regions – @zacklabe.com
December 22, 2025 at 2:19 PM
zacklabe.com
Monday ice update - #Arctic sea ice extent is currently the *lowest* on record (JAXA data)

• about 640,000 km² below the 2010s mean
• about 1,220,000 km² below the 2000s mean
• about 1,780,000 km² below the 1990s mean
• about 2,140,000 km² below the 1980s mean

More: zacklabe.com/arctic-sea-i...
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, which is currently a record low for the current date. There is a long-term decreasing trend in ice extent for every day of the year shown on this graph between October and January by looking at the decadal average line positions.
December 22, 2025 at 2:27 PM
zacklabe.com
Last month showed more unusual warmth across the #Arctic, where the extent, thickness, and volume of sea ice also recently set new record lows. Not ideal...

Plot shows zonal-mean temperature anomalies, where latitude = y-axis (not scaled by distance). GISTEMPv4 data using their 1951-1980 baseline.
Bar graph showing zonal mean surface air temperature anomalies for the period of November 2025. All latitude bands observed above average temperature anomalies.
December 22, 2025 at 12:59 PM
zacklabe.com
"In a warming world, we will continue to see snow and extreme cold, but these events are becoming the exceptions rather than the rule, and that shift is reshaping our landscape and environment."

+ Report: climatecentral.org/climate-brie...
+ Webinar recording: www.youtube.com/watch?v=75S2...
Climate Central’s Monthly Briefing Highlights: November 2025
YouTube video by climatecentral
www.youtube.com
December 22, 2025 at 1:10 AM
zacklabe.com
Happy #DecemberSolstice! 🌞

Understanding seasons - a look at the hourly incoming solar radiation during the two solstices (23.5°N/S). I've added a red marker for ease of viewing. Dashed line shows the equator

This graphic can be found at zacklabe.com/arctic-clima...
December 21, 2025 at 1:14 PM
zacklabe.com
A few days before Christmas and near record high temperatures are occurring around the North Pole in the #Arctic 🎅🥵

Download at zacklabe.com/arctic-tempe...
Line graph time series of daily Arctic temperatures north of 80°N latitude for every year from 1958 through 2025. There is a long-term warming trend for every day of the year and a clear seasonal cycle. 2025 is currently much warmer than average.
December 20, 2025 at 4:33 PM
Reposted by Zack Labe
hausfath.bsky.social
A massive new report by over 100 scientists modeling the climate effects of the 2022 Hunga volcanic eruption finds "The record-high global surface temperatures in 2023/2024 were not due to the Hunga eruption": juser.fz-juelich.de/...
December 18, 2025 at 8:47 PM
zacklabe.com
Our planet that is heating up - watch 100 years of September-October-November temperature departures over land areas (where we live) through the year 2025...

Data provided by NOAAGlobalTemp v6.0.0: www.ncei.noaa.gov/products/lan...
December 20, 2025 at 2:37 PM
zacklabe.com
Good news - GIOMAS data is back. And I just updated my graphics through November 2025 for both Antarctic sea-ice thickness/volume (zacklabe.com/antarctic-se...) and global sea-ice volume (zacklabe.com/global-sea-i...). Global sea-ice volume has been near a record low almost all year.
December 20, 2025 at 1:28 AM
zacklabe.com
Friday ice update - #Arctic sea ice extent is currently the 2nd lowest on record (JAXA data)

• about 670,000 km² below the 2010s mean
• about 1,190,000 km² below the 2000s mean
• about 1,750,000 km² below the 1990s mean
• about 2,190,000 km² below the 1980s mean

More: zacklabe.com/arctic-sea-i...
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, which is currently a record low for the current date. There is a long-term decreasing trend in ice extent for every day of the year shown on this graph between October and January by looking at the decadal average line positions.
December 19, 2025 at 4:27 PM
zacklabe.com
Another remarkable spike in temperature is ongoing across the northernmost portions of the #Arctic, with a poleward surge of heat and moisture from the Atlantic. Also note the clear warm Arctic, cold continent temperature anomaly pattern.

More graphics at zacklabe.com/arctic-tempe...
Line graph time series of daily Arctic temperatures north of 80°N latitude for every year from 1958 through 2025. There is a long-term warming trend for every day of the year and a clear seasonal cycle. 2025 is currently much warmer than average. Map of current Arctic 2-m air temperature anomalies across the Arctic from the 19 December 2025 6z GFS model run. The Arctic is forecast to be over 4.5°C above average.
December 19, 2025 at 1:36 PM
zacklabe.com
Check out the anomalous warmth across the #Arctic and #Antarctic over the last three months. And actually, all latitude bands averaged unusually warm too.

Plot shows zonal-mean temperature anomalies, where latitude = y-axis (not scaled by distance). GISTEMPv4 data using their 1951-1980 baseline.
Bar graph showing zonal mean surface air temperature anomalies for the period of September-October-November 2025. All latitude bands observed above average temperature anomalies.
December 19, 2025 at 12:47 PM
zacklabe.com
Temperatures over global land areas so far this year are still the 2nd warmest on record (after last year)... 🫥

Data from www.ncei.noaa.gov/products/lan...
Line graph time series of global land mean surface temperature anomalies for each January-November period from 1850 through 2025. There is a long-term increasing trend and large year-to-year variability. The mean surface temperature anomaly averaged for January-November 2025 was 1.85°C for global land areas. Anomalies are computed relative to a 1901-2000 climate baseline. Data from NOAA/NESDIS/NCEI NOAAGlobalTemp v6.0.0.
December 19, 2025 at 12:31 AM
zacklabe.com
Areas in red indicate thinning #Arctic sea ice during the month of December over the last >40 years... 🧊📉

Simulated data from PIOMAS. For more information: doi.org/10.1175/JCLI....
Polar stereographic map showing December sea ice thickness trends in the Arctic from 1979 to 2024. All areas are experiencing thinning ice.
December 18, 2025 at 6:53 PM
zacklabe.com
Thursday ice update - #Arctic sea ice extent is currently the lowest on record (JAXA data)

• about 810,000 km² below the 2010s mean
• about 1,330,000 km² below the 2000s mean
• about 1,910,000 km² below the 1990s mean
• about 2,360,000 km² below the 1980s mean

Graphics zacklabe.com/arctic-sea-i...
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, which is currently a record low for the current date. There is a long-term decreasing trend in ice extent for every day of the year shown on this graph between October and January by looking at the decadal average line positions.
December 18, 2025 at 1:41 PM
zacklabe.com
The freeze-up in the Hudson Bay (Canada) has been one of the latest on record for #Arctic sea ice. This is consistent with the long-term trend of a lengthening open water season.

Data from @nsidc.bsky.social at nsidc.org/data/seaice_...
Line graph time series showing daily Arctic sea ice extent in the Hudson Bay for 2025 compared to each year from 1979 to 2024. There is a large seasonal cycle on this graph and a long-term decreasing trend for days during the melt season from June to December.
December 18, 2025 at 12:44 PM