2025 marks the 20th edition of the Arctic Report Card – reporting Arctic observations over two decades of significant change in the Polar North.

Direct observations reveal a clear pattern of Arctic warming: rising air and sea temperatures are transforming ecosystems and accelerating sea ice loss, glacier melt, and landscape transformation, with significant environmental and global impacts.

In 2005, the September sea ice minimum was a record low. Since then, that record has been broken 19 times.

A warming ocean is partly to blame. In the Arctic Ocean's Atlantic sector, the August 2025 mean sea surface temperatures were as much as 13 degrees Fahrenheit above average.

Another contributor to sea ice loss is Atlantification: The influx of warmer, saltier water from the Atlantic into the Arctic Basin. This influences ecosystems, commercial fisheries, food security, and Indigenous subsistence practices. It’s also allowing more marine traffic causing new economic and national security concerns.

Warming air means disappearing glaciers, ice caps, and snow, thawing permafrost, increased wildfire threats, and a greening tundra.

Increasing surface air temperatures in the Arctic have outpaced global temperature changes, resulting in the relentless melt of glaciers and ice caps, raising sea levels across the globe.

Another visible impact of warming is ‘rusting’ rivers. In Arctic Alaska, surface waters have changed from clear to orange in over 200 watersheds. Evidence suggests this ‘rusting’ is caused by the release of iron and other elements from thawing permafrost soils. This degrades water quality and habitat, contributing to a loss of aquatic biodiversity. Current research aims to better understand why rivers rust, and how drinking water supplies and subsistence fisheries are being affected.

Local observations are critical. Community-led monitoring initiatives, such as the Indigenous Sentinels Network train community members to monitor and document changes in wildlife, ocean conditions, and subsistence resources using both Indigenous knowledge and Western science. Sharing these observations links local experience with broader data.

Long-term data tracking is essential and for the last 20 years, the Arctic Report Card has helped reveal what in the Arctic is changing, why it's changing, and how those rapid changes are important for ecosystems, communities, and the planet.