Arctic reality check: An uncertain future
The Arctic is warming faster than anywhere else on the planet, which has serious implications for the region as well as the entire planet. Sea ice is melting, sea levels are rising, and the entire region is facing changes irreversible within our lifetimes. This issue of The Circle explores how the Arctic is ground zero for climate change: what is happening in the region, why the Arctic is warming faster than the rest of the planet, and how these changes are impacting communities. Arctic reality check: An uncertain future, explores these questions and more as we work towards limiting global warming to below 1.5 °C.
Stories from this issue
Facing an uncertain future
News from the Arctic (2023.02)
Why is the Arctic warming faster than the rest of the planet?
Arctic sea ice in the hot seat
As industrial activity and shipping traffic grow, we need firm regulations to protect Arctic waters
Will the climate crisis take the “Ice” out of Iceland?
Climate change and green colonialism in the Sápmi
Transformations in Southeast Greenland's marine ecosystem are affecting the distribution of marine species
What lurks below: Waking a sleeping carbon giant
The future of ecotourism in a changing Arctic
Fire, water and the air we breathe
Nature's blanket is thinning
Small but mighty: The invisible yet serious impacts of microbial communities in a warming Arctic Ocean
The back cover
© Pete Mullineaux
How human-induced climate change is throwing nature off-course: A poet's take
We are the Walrus is a new collection of poetry by Pete Mullineaux, a poet, dramatist, songwriter, author, musician and teacher living in Galway, Ireland. The title poem explores how the natural world is being thrown off course—quite literally—by human-caused climate change.

© Pete Mullineaux
More from The Circle
The Arctic in the age of tech
The forgotten Arctic: A crisis of global inaction
Navigating a changing Arctic
Arctic clean-up: Turning the tide
About The Circle magazine
Quarterly
WWF Arctic Programme publishes the magazine four times per year and each issue zeroes in on a theme and presents a range of stories.
Actions
It covers the key climate risks are for the Arctic—and what researchers and decision-makers in the eight Arctic nations are doing.
Perspectives
We aim to hear from contributors in a selection of Arctic countries—from youth to Indigenous communities to policymakers to scientists.
Themes
Stay informed about the environmental and development issues affecting wildlife, ecosystems and people in the Arctic today.