It also illustrates an overlooked aspect of climate change’s impact: Maritime traffic in the Arctic is higher than ever as mining and resource extraction projects increase along with other investments, but shipping conditions are more dangerous than ever as a result of the weather’s greater seasonal variation.
“There’s a bit of a misconception that climate changes means warming, less ice, and it’s easier to navigate,” said Neil O’Rourke, assistant commissioner of the Canadian Coast Guard in the Arctic. “In fact, it’s making navigation a little riskier or more complex.”
O’Rourke points out that the start and end of each shipping season has become difficult to predict.
“For years, we could be certain that ice would be there or wouldn’t be there,” he said. “What we’re seeing more recently is we don’t know what kind of weather patterns and what kind of ice we’re going to get.”
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