An area of ice the size of the UK and Ireland disappeared from the Bering Sea in February as scientists warned that the region was entering uncharted territory. Sea ice cover in the Bering Sea, which is between Alaska and Russia, dropped by two-thirds during February, according to the Colorado-based National Snow and Ice Data Center. It is the second year in a row the winter ice has hit a record low. The ice loss has been so dramatic that it has forced the organisers of the Iditarod, the world’s most famous dogsled race across 1,000 miles of Alaska, to shift the route in several locations where it normally travels over frozen sea. The race, which began last weekend, has also been unusually slow this year because warm temperatures – just under freezing – have made the snow stickier, dragging on the sleds.
FT 9th March 2019 read more »
