Climate Change

The best medicine for a dreary winter is adaptation. And if all else fails, there’s always hope that next year might be better.

This winter’s warmer than normal weather could set an Alaska record. National Weather Service Alaska region climate science and services manager Rick Thoman points to a lack of extremely cold temperatures across the state.

“Part of this funding is set aside to address the needs that the president saw firsthand when he visited coastal communities in Alaska that are seeing their homelands eroding into the ocean at a rapid pace,” said Deputy Interior Secretary Mike Connor.

Things have gotten so bad in Kotzebue Sound that belugas there don’t sing out as much as they do elsewhere. Researchers suspect the belugas are afraid killer whales will find them and eat them.

It’s unclear whether The Blob will affect area salmon fisheries.

Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott was part of Alaskan group participating in Seattle’s Arctic Encounter Symposium.