Zack Labe
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Zack Labe
@zacklabe.com
42K followers 1K following 3.8K posts
Climate Scientist at @climatecentral.org | PhD | Passionate about improving science communication through data-driven stories | Harrisburg, PA | https://zacklabe.com/

Views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are only my own.
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Zack Labe @zacklabe.com · Nov 30
🧵 Looking for (polar) climate data visualizations? Start here! 📈📉🧪⚒️🌊

+ Polar climate change: zacklabe.com/arctic-sea-i...
+ Global climate change indicators: zacklabe.com/climate-chan...
+ #Arctic sea ice extent: zacklabe.com/arctic-sea-i...
+ #Antarctic sea ice: zacklabe.com/antarctic-se...
zacklabe.com
Nearly the entire Canadian Arctic Archipelago recorded temperatures warmer than 5°C above the 1981-2010 baseline in October 2025. And as I shared yesterday, sea ice in the Baffin Bay is currently a record low for the date... Hudson Bay too (I'll share that next).

Data from doi.org/10.24381/cds...
Regional map of the Canadian Arctic showing October 2025 temperature anomalies. Most areas are warmer than average. Anomalies are calculated to a 1981-2010 baseline with red being warmer than average, and blue being colder than average.
November 25, 2025 at 12:45 PM
zacklabe.com
Monday ice update - #Arctic sea ice extent is currently the *2nd* lowest on record (JAXA data)

• about 770,000 km² below the 2010s mean
• about 1,390,000 km² below the 2000s mean
• about 2,010,000 km² below the 1990s mean
• about 2,530,000 km² below the 1980s mean

More zacklabe.com/arctic-sea-i...
Line graph time series of 2025's daily Arctic sea ice extent compared to decadal averages from the 1980s to the 2010s. The decadal averages are shown with different colored lines with purple for the 1980s, blue for the 1990s, green for the 2000s, and white for the 2010s. Thin white lines are also shown for each year from 2000 to 2024. 2025 is shown with a thick gold line. There is a long-term decreasing trend in ice extent for every day of the year shown on this graph between October and January by looking at the decadal average line positions.
November 25, 2025 at 12:00 AM
zacklabe.com
🥹
November 24, 2025 at 8:22 PM
zacklabe.com
There actually is a local minimum in October around that region compared to the warmth nearby. However, this cold blob is more visible in long-term trend maps that smooth out the interannual variability like that is present in a noisy one-month view (e.g., just looking at October 2025 alone).
November 24, 2025 at 8:22 PM
zacklabe.com
There actually has been some really interesting work relating the state of the wintertime stratosphere to preconditioning springtime sea ice (e.g., doi.org/10.1175/JCLI... and doi.org/10.1175/JCLI...). I can try to find a more accessible summary of this research too. More to understand for sure!
November 24, 2025 at 8:20 PM
zacklabe.com
Thank you for sharing them - much appreciated!! Feel free to send them to my website too for questions/more graphics (zacklabe.com).
November 24, 2025 at 8:16 PM
zacklabe.com
This year's #Arctic sea ice freeze-up is clearly the latest on record for the Baffin Bay region (located between Greenland and the Canadian Arctic Archipelago). The extent of ice cover is a record low for the date there.

Data from @nsidc.bsky.social at nsidc.org/data/seaice_...
Line graph time series of 2025's daily Arctic sea ice extent compared to each year from 1979 to 2024 as shown with thin lines in colors from purple to white. This graph is for Baffin Bay. There is large daily variability, but a long-term decreasing trend during all months of the year. A seasonal cycle is also visible in this region.
November 24, 2025 at 3:29 PM
zacklabe.com
Looking back at the average temperature departures over the last 3 months - find your location...

🟥 warmer than average
🟦 colder than average

Dataset described in doi.org/10.1175/BAMS...
Global map showing surface air temperature anomalies for the August 2025 to October 2025 period across the entire planet. Most all areas were warmer than average, especially in the Arctic and Antarctic. This data set is from NOAA's NOAAGlobalTempv6.0.0 using anomalies with a 1971-2000 climate baseline. Red is shown for warmer than average temperatures, and blue is shown for colder than average temperatures.
November 24, 2025 at 12:50 PM
zacklabe.com
The 12-month running mean global temperature anomaly continues to fall from its peak (temporary), which is mostly in response to cooler conditions over the equatorial Pacific Ocean during the last year (weak La Niña state).

➡️ Graphic available by zacklabe.com/climate-chan... 🌊⚒️🧪
Line graph time series of a 12-month running mean of global mean surface temperature anomalies from 1979 through October 2025. There is a long-term increasing trend and large interannual variability on this graph. Anomalies are computed relative to a 1991-2020 baseline. Blue shading is shown for below average anomalies, and red shading is shown for above average anomalies.
November 24, 2025 at 1:44 AM
zacklabe.com
Many areas around coastal regions of the #Arctic Ocean are getting wetter in November. The largest trends are found in the Barents-Kara Seas region, which correlates with warmer SSTs and less sea ice.

+ Data (GPCP): psl.noaa.gov/data/gridded...
+ More info: doi.org/10.25923/xf7...
Polar stereographic map showing November precipitation trends over the period of 1979 to 2024. Many coastal areas around the Arctic are getting wetter. Data is from GPCP.
November 23, 2025 at 2:07 PM
zacklabe.com
Not looking great for Santa's workshop 😳
Polar stereographic map of a region across Siberia and the Barents-Kara Seas of the Arctic. The map shows temperature anomalies with red being warmer than average and blue being colder than average relative to a 1981-2010 baseline using ERA5 data. Most places are warmer than average during this month of October 2025.
November 23, 2025 at 2:28 AM
zacklabe.com
Watch 100 years of August-October temperature departures over land areas (where we live) up through 2025...

Data provided by NOAAGlobalTemp v6.0.0: www.ncei.noaa.gov/products/lan...
November 22, 2025 at 2:52 PM
zacklabe.com
Was there any coverage of the recent record warmth in both the Arctic and Antarctic? Multiple global datasets now confirm these records, and I think it's really quite striking.

Here's some very quick plots showing NOAAGlobalTempv6 data from October too. And see my earlier posts.
A line graph shows the time series of Arctic mean surface temperature anomalies for each October from 1850 through 2025. There is a long-term increasing trend and large year-to-year variability. The mean surface temperature anomaly in October 2025 was 3.78°C for this region. Anomalies are computed relative to a 1910-2000 climate baseline. All data is from NOAA/NESDIS/NCEI NOAAGlobalTemp v6.0.0 on this graphic. A line graph shows the time series of Antarctic mean surface temperature anomalies for each October from 1850 through 2025. There is a long-term increasing trend and large year-to-year variability. The mean surface temperature anomaly in October 2025 was 1.43°C for this region. Anomalies are computed relative to a 1910-2000 climate baseline. All data is from NOAA/NESDIS/NCEI NOAAGlobalTemp v6.0.0 on this graphic.
November 22, 2025 at 2:20 AM
zacklabe.com
This is really striking (to me). Temperatures over global land areas so far this year are still the 2nd warmest on record (after last year)... 🫥

Data from www.ncei.noaa.gov/products/lan...
Line graph time series of global land mean surface temperature anomalies for each January-October period from 1850 through 2025. There is a long-term increasing trend and large year-to-year variability. The mean surface temperature anomaly averaged for January-October 2025 was 1.84°C for global land areas. Anomalies are computed relative to a 1901-2000 climate baseline. Data from NOAA/NESDIS/NCEI NOAAGlobalTemp v6.0.0.
November 21, 2025 at 6:47 PM
zacklabe.com
Friday ice update - #Arctic sea ice extent is currently the *2nd* lowest on record (JAXA data)

• about 720,000 km² below the 2010s mean
• about 1,390,000 km² below the 2000s mean
• about 2,010,000 km² below the 1990s mean
• about 2,520,000 km² below the 1980s mean

More zacklabe.com/arctic-sea-i...
Line graph time series of 2025's daily Arctic sea ice extent compared to decadal averages from the 1980s to the 2010s. The decadal averages are shown with different colored lines with purple for the 1980s, blue for the 1990s, green for the 2000s, and white for the 2010s. Thin white lines are also shown for each year from 2000 to 2024. 2025 is shown with a thick gold line. There is a long-term decreasing trend in ice extent for every day of the year shown on this graph between October and January by looking at the decadal average line positions.
November 21, 2025 at 1:28 PM
zacklabe.com
Thank you for sharing this!
November 21, 2025 at 12:31 PM
zacklabe.com
Take a look at this... Remarkable "warmth" last month across both polar regions when visualizing temperature departures by latitude. The x-axis is quite stretched out here compared to my usual monthly update of this graphic.

GISTEMPv4 using their 1951-1980 baseline (data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/).
Bar graph showing zonal mean surface air temperature anomalies for the period of October 2025. All latitude bands observed above average temperature anomalies relative to 1951-1980.
November 20, 2025 at 9:16 PM
zacklabe.com
Great to know! I keep trying to figure out why there is no pause on the end… I include one when making it, prior to uploading the GIF on @bsky.app 😅
November 20, 2025 at 6:58 PM
zacklabe.com
Here's a closer look around Svalbard from last month in the #Arctic, where nearly all areas recorded temperatures more than 5°C warmer than the 1981-2010 average.

Data from doi.org/10.24381/cds...
Map of the Svalbard region showing 2-m air temperature anomalies in October 2025. Red shading is shown for warmer than average temperatures, and blue shading is shown colder than average temperatures. Anomalies are calculated relative to 1981-2010. All areas are warmer than average.
November 20, 2025 at 12:26 PM
zacklabe.com
Wednesday ice update: #Arctic sea-ice extent is currently the *2nd* lowest on record for the current date (JAXA VISHOP data)...

More graphics of polar change: zacklabe.com/arctic-sea-i...
Line graph time series of 2025's daily Arctic sea ice extent compared to decadal averages from the 1980s to the 2010s. The decadal averages are shown with different colored lines with purple for the 1980s, blue for the 1990s, green for the 2000s, and white for the 2010s. Thin white lines are also shown for each year from 2000 to 2024. 2025 is shown with a thick gold line. There is a long-term decreasing trend in ice extent for every day of the year shown on this graph between October and January by looking at the decadal average line positions.
November 20, 2025 at 1:30 AM
Reposted by Zack Labe
jswatz.bsky.social
“They won’t insure you,” Ms. Rojas said. “No one will buy from you. You’re kind of stuck where you are.” Our political leaders might not believe in climate change, but insurance companies know the score. And it's being felt disastrously, all over the country. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Rising Home Insurance Premiums Are Eating Into Home Values in Disaster-Prone Areas (Gift Article)
Changes in the insurance market have started to affect home prices in the most disaster-prone areas, new research finds, pushing some homeowners’ finances to the breaking point.
www.nytimes.com
November 19, 2025 at 4:24 PM
zacklabe.com
I wish there was better news than this headline ⚒️🧪

"Global carbon emissions from fossil fuels are projected to rise by 1.1% in 2025 - reaching a record high" (globalcarbonbudget.org/fossil-fuel-...)

+ Global Carbon Budget 2025 is out globalcarbonbudget.org/gcb-2025/
+ Paper doi.org/10.5194/essd...
Line graph time series of global fossil CO2 emissions since the late 1950s to 2025. 2025 is at record high levels of 38.1 Gt CO2, which is an increase of 1.1%. Historical events, such as the first oil crisis and COVID-19 are annotated.
November 19, 2025 at 1:07 PM
zacklabe.com
A view of this year's extreme sea surface temperatures and recent warming across the North Pacific... 🌊

This graph shows the average for a band across the midlatitudes for every average January-October period from 1854-2025 using ERSSTv5 data.
Green line graph time series of average sea surface temperature anomalies for each January-October from 1850 through 2025 for only the midlatitude region of the North Pacific Ocean. There is large interannual variability, but an overall long-term increasing trend. Anomalies are computed relative to a 1981-2010 baseline. 2025 is a record high.
November 19, 2025 at 1:28 AM
zacklabe.com
Yes! Check out that graph here: www.epa.gov/climate-indi...
Climate Change Indicators: Atmospheric Concentrations of Greenhouse Gases | US EPA
This indicator describes how the levels of major greenhouse gases in the atmosphere have changed over time.
www.epa.gov
November 19, 2025 at 12:22 AM
Reposted by Zack Labe
ccallahan45.bsky.social
📈🚨NEW: Extreme heat events are increasingly threatening to become mass mortality events. In @natclimate.nature.com today, we project tens of thousands of deaths in a single week across Europe if extreme heat domes coincide with rising global temperatures.

www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Increasing risk of mass human heat mortality if historical weather patterns recur - Nature Climate Change
The authors couple calculations of historical heatwave intensity at present and future global temperatures with exposure–response functions to quantify mortality from extreme heat events in Europe. Th...
www.nature.com
November 18, 2025 at 1:06 PM