Arctic and North Pole temperature map
This view looks down at the North Pole and shows the air temperature at two metres above the surface, in degrees Celsius, from the NOAA GFS model. Unlike Antarctica, the Arctic is an ocean covered in sea ice and surrounded by land.
Because the ice sits on water, the air above it is not as cold as on the southern plateau. In winter the coldest areas lie over Siberia, northern Canada and the high ice sheet of Greenland, where values drop well below minus 40 degrees. Over open water near the ice edge, the air is much warmer.
Follow the forecast for sudden changes. When a strong low-pressure system pushes into the Arctic from the Atlantic or the Pacific, a surge of mild air can raise temperatures by tens of degrees in a day or two, and the map shows it as a patch of lighter colour. Cold air can also spill south from the pole into mid-latitudes.
Summer brings long days with constant sunlight and temperatures close to freezing over the ocean. The grid is 0.25 degrees, and each of the four daily runs covers 48 hours in 3-hour steps.