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Zack Labe
@zacklabe.com
42K followers 1K following 4.1K 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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zacklabe.com
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
Last month observed unusually low sea ice around much of the outer edge of the #Arctic Ocean. The largest departures were across the Hudson Bay, Baffin Bay, and Barents Sea.

+ Concentration = fraction of sea ice
+ Graphic from zacklabe.com/arctic-sea-i...
Two polar stereographic maps side-by-side showing Arctic sea ice concentration and its anomalies relative to 1981-2010 for December 2025. Red shading is shown for less ice, and blue shading is shown for more ice. Most areas are below average for sea ice concentration along the edge of the Arctic. Continents and land are masked out in a gray shading.
January 17, 2026 at 9:07 PM
zacklabe.com
Technical data update - I just went through and processed sea-ice concentration data from NOAA/NSIDC CDR *version 6*, which I will now use moving forward. This change is mostly due to AMSR2.

I previously used v5 for my visualizations. Differences are negligible. Learn more nsidc.org/data/user-re...
New version release: NOAA/NSIDC Sea Ice Concentration Data Records - CDR Version 6 and Near-Real-Time CDR Version 4 | National Snow and Ice Data Center
The National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) has released Version 6 of the NOAA/NSIDC Climate Data Record of Passive Microwave Sea Ice Concentration data set and Version 4 of the Near-Real-Time NO
nsidc.org
January 17, 2026 at 5:35 PM
zacklabe.com
A look back at monthly temperature anomalies in the #Arctic during 2025...

Data from @copernicusecmwf.bsky.social ERA5 reanalysis.
Twelve polar stereographic maps showing 2-m air temperature anomalies in the Arctic from January 2025 to December 2025. Blue shading is shown for colder anomalies, and red shading is shown for warmer anomalies. All months are warmer than average overall. Anomalies are computed relative to a 1981-2010 baseline.
January 17, 2026 at 3:11 PM
zacklabe.com
My #Arctic sea-ice thickness and volume graphics are now updated for December 2025 (record low!) and for annual means through 2025 (record low!): zacklabe.com/arctic-sea-i... #SciComm #DataViz #OpenScience #OpenData
Arctic: Sea-Ice Thickness/Volume
Near real-time visualizations [Arctic Climate Seasonality and Variability] [Arctic Sea-Ice Extent and Concentration] [Arctic Sea-Ice Volume and Thickness] [Arctic Temperatures] [Antarctic Sea-Ice E…
zacklabe.com
January 17, 2026 at 12:41 PM
zacklabe.com
The total volume of #Arctic sea ice has been at or near record low levels for every day since late October.

More graphics of thickness and volume: zacklabe.com/arctic-sea-i...
Line graph time series of daily mean Arctic sea ice volume for each year from 1979 to 2025 using shades of red, white and blue. A seasonal cycle is shown with thicker ice in late winter and thinner ice in late summer. A long-term decreasing trend is also visible. Data is from PIOMAS v2.1.
January 17, 2026 at 1:45 AM
zacklabe.com
Friday ice update - #Arctic sea ice extent is currently the 2nd lowest on record (JAXA data)...

• about 420,000 km² below the 2010s mean
• about 960,000 km² below the 2000s mean
• about 1,530,000 km² below the 1990s mean
• about 1,950,000 km² below the 1980s mean

More: zacklabe.com/arctic-sea-i...
Line graph time series of 2026'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 2025. 2026 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 January and March by looking at the decadal average line positions.
January 16, 2026 at 2:08 PM
zacklabe.com
Here's a closer look at the very sharp temperature anomaly contrast from northern Canada to Greenland in December 2025. Low sea ice in the Baffin Bay region is also contributing to this local relative warmth.

Data from doi.org/10.24381/cds...
Regional map of the Canadian Arctic showing December 2025 temperature anomalies. Most areas are warmer than average in the Hudson and Baffin Bay regions, while much colder than average from Alaska to northern Canada. Anomalies are calculated to a 1981-2010 baseline with red being warmer than average, and blue being colder than average.
January 16, 2026 at 12:57 PM
zacklabe.com
#Arctic climate rankings are now updated for December 2025: zacklabe.com/archive-2025/. Record low sea ice conditions!

#SciComm #DataViz #OpenScience #OpenData
Data Ranking Archive – 2025
December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 Other climate year statistics: Data Archive –…
zacklabe.com
January 16, 2026 at 2:22 AM
zacklabe.com
Trends in January #Arctic sea ice thickness over the 1979 to 2024 period. The greatest thinning (darkest red color) is found in the East Siberian Sea and around the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.

Simulated data from PIOMAS. For more information: doi.org/10.1175/JCLI....
Polar stereographic map showing Arctic sea ice thickness trends in January over the 1979 to 2024 period. All areas are observing thinning ice.
January 16, 2026 at 12:34 AM
zacklabe.com
An additional dataset in showing that global ocean heat content (0-2000 m depth) is surging off the charts after another new record in 2025... 🌊

Graphic/data (anomalies) from www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/globa...
Line graph time series of global ocean heat content for the 0-2000 m layer for 3 year averages, yearly averages, and five years averages from the late 1950s to 2025. There is a long-term warming trend. The baseline is 1955-2006 for the zero reference to calculate the anomalies.
January 15, 2026 at 1:29 PM
zacklabe.com
Temperature anomalies (departure from average) around our planet for the last month (left), 3 months (center), and 12 months (right)...

Data from doi.org/10.24381/cds...
Three Robinson projection maps showing 2-m air temperature anomalies in December 2025, October 2025 to December 2025, and January 2025 to December 2025 across the globe. Red shading is shown for warmer anomalies, and blue shading is shown for colder anomalies. Most areas are warmer than average. The mean global near-surface air temperature anomaly for each map is also displayed in the upper-left corner. Anomalies are calculated relative to a 1981-2010 baseline. Data is from ERA5 reanalysis using the 2-m air temperature variable.
January 15, 2026 at 11:49 AM
zacklabe.com
December 2025 was the 5th warmest December on record globally. This month was about 1.42°C above the 1850-1900 pre-industrial average. Note the sharp temperature anomaly contrast across North America!

Summary of month from @copernicusecmwf.bsky.social: climate.copernicus.eu/surface-air-... 🌊🧪⚒️
Orthographic map showing 2-m air temperature anomalies in December 2025 relative to a 1981-2010 baseline. This visualization shows North and South America. Most areas are warmer than average, except for Alaska and Canada. Orthographic map showing 2-m air temperature anomalies in December 2025 relative to a 1981-2010 baseline using ERA5 data. This visualization shows Africa, Europe, and western Asia. Most areas are warmer than average, except parts of Siberia and India. Orthographic map showing 2-m air temperature anomalies in December 2025 relative to a 1981-2010 baseline using ERA5 data. This visualization shows Australia, Antarctica, and Asia. Most areas are warmer than average, except for parts of Australia and India.
January 15, 2026 at 12:46 AM
Reposted by Zack Labe
climatecentral.org
Looking forward to the 106th Annual Meeting of the @ametsoc.org.

If you're one of the thousands attending, we'd love to see you at any or all of these listed below. And honestly? Just come say "howdy" anytime! We're always up for a good conversation and connecting.

See you in Houston! #AMS2026
January 13, 2026 at 11:36 PM
zacklabe.com
We continue to receive warning signs for our future. The data is in, and last year was the 3rd hottest on record for our planet...

+ Full report by @copernicusecmwf.bsky.social at climate.copernicus.eu/sites/defaul...
Bar graph time series showing global mean surface temperature anomalies from 1850 to 2025 for ERA5 compared to other datasets. 2025 was the third warmest year on record. Graphic produced by Copernicus ECMWF. There is a long-term warming trend.
January 14, 2026 at 12:43 PM
zacklabe.com
Last year observed the 3rd warmest global average sea surface temperature on record. 🌊

Data from psl.noaa.gov/data/gridded...
Green line graph time series of average sea surface temperature anomalies for each year period from 1900 through 2025. There is large interannual variability, but an overall long-term increasing trend. Anomalies are computed relative to a 1981-2010 baseline.
January 14, 2026 at 1:26 AM
zacklabe.com
Hope you will join us next week! I'll be leading our next public webinar that will review 2025's global climate stats and extreme events.

We'll also be discussing the recent tally of 2025's billion-dollar disasters in the U.S. 🧪⚒️

➡️ Register in advance at climatecentral-org.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
Promo to register for Climate Central Monthly Climate Brief, which is on January 20, 2026 at 12pm eastern. mage is over billion dollar disasters over US with round icons of the types of disasters. Time series showing the history of billion-dollar disasters in the United States each year from 1980 to 2025, showing event type (colors), frequency, and cost adjusted for inflation to 2025 dollars. There is a long-term increasing trend in this data. The graphic is produced by Climate Central.
January 13, 2026 at 3:51 PM
zacklabe.com
Northern Greenland, the marginal ice zone, and southern Barents Sea have observed an increase in precipitation over the last few decades in January, while the Bering Sea and subpolar North Atlantic have seen a drying.

+ Data: psl.noaa.gov/data/gridded...
+ Info: arctic.noaa.gov/report-card/...
Polar stereographic map showing January precipitation trends over the period of 1979 to 2024. Areas getting wetter include the Pacific side of the Arctic and around the Barents Sea region. Meanwhile western Siberia and the North Atlantic are drying.
January 13, 2026 at 12:52 PM
zacklabe.com
"In a reversal, the agency plans to calculate only the cost to industry when setting pollution limits, and not the monetary value of saving human lives, documents show."
maxinejoselow.bsky.social Maxine Joselow @maxinejoselow.bsky.social · 5d
Scoop: The EPA will no longer estimate the lives saved by reducing air pollution when writing clean-air regulations, according to documents reviewed by @nytimes.com.
Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/01/12/c...
E.P.A. to Stop Considering Lives Saved When Setting Rules on Air Pollution
www.nytimes.com
January 12, 2026 at 5:50 PM
zacklabe.com
Monday ice update - #Arctic sea ice extent is currently the 4th lowest on record (JAXA data)...

• about 200,000 km² below the 2010s mean
• about 750,000 km² below the 2000s mean
• about 1,330,000 km² below the 1990s mean
• about 1,720,000 km² below the 1980s mean

More: zacklabe.com/arctic-sea-i...
Line graph time series of 2026'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 2025. 2026 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 January and March by looking at the decadal average line positions.
January 12, 2026 at 1:48 PM
zacklabe.com
Here are the latest monthly-averaged observations of global methane (CH₄; a potent greenhouse gas)...

September 2025 - 1940.59 ppb
September 2024 - 1934.39 ppb

+ Data: gml.noaa.gov/ccgg/trends_...
+ Learn more: doi.org/10.5194/essd...
Red colored line graph time series of global atmospheric methane abundance from January 1984 through September 2025. Methane abundance is measured in units of parts per billion. Current levels are 1941 ppb. A seasonal cycle is visible on the graph. There is also decadal variability and a long-term increasing trend.
January 12, 2026 at 12:55 PM
zacklabe.com
Carbon dioxide (CO₂) averaged about 427 ppm in December 2025

10 years ago December averaged about 402 ppm

Data available at gml.noaa.gov/ccgg/trends/
Red line graph time series of monthly carbon dioxide abundance from January 1959 through December 2025. There is a seasonal cycle and long-term increasing trend. Current levels of CO2 are at 427 ppm. This is the Keeling Curve graph. A line for CO2 10 years ago is also annotated.
January 11, 2026 at 8:57 PM
zacklabe.com
#Arctic sea ice concentration trends in January are only confined to the outer edges of the Arctic Ocean, such as the Barents-Kara Seas, Greenland Sea, Baffin Bay, and Sea of Okhotsk.

Sea ice concentration = fraction of ice-cover. For more info: doi.org/10.1175/BAMS...
Polar stereographic map showing Arctic sea ice concentration trends for Januarys from 1979 to 2024. The outer marginal seas are seeing declining trends, while the central Arctic remains ice covered.
January 11, 2026 at 6:48 PM
zacklabe.com
A summary overview showing the standardized anomalies of annual #Arctic sea ice extent by region - now updated through 2025

[Data via @nsidc.bsky.social; Graphic available at zacklabe.com/arctic-sea-i.... Bright blue = max year, bright red = min year, vertical lines = 2007/2012/2016/2020/2025]
Graphic showing 10 bar graphs of regional standardized anomalies of annual mean Arctic sea ice extent for different marginal seas. There is a long-term decreasing trend in all regions from 1979 to 2025.
January 11, 2026 at 2:01 PM
zacklabe.com
While most of the #Arctic Ocean is predominately ice covered in January, the edges reveal warming at the ocean surface. Warming trends are particularly large in the North Atlantic and Davis Strait/Labrador Sea. 🌊

Data from OISSTv2.1. For more info: arctic.noaa.gov/report-card/...
Polar stereographic map showing sea surface temperature (SST) trends for Januarys from 1979 to 2024. There are no trends over most of the Arctic Ocean due to ice cover. But there is warming in the North Atlantic and little-to-no trend in SSTs for the North Pacific.
January 10, 2026 at 10:08 PM
zacklabe.com
2025 was the hottest year on record for ocean heat content. Unfortunately, we now say this every year. 🥹

"In addition to setting a new record in 2025, the global
ocean continues to show sustained and intensified warming."

+ #OpenAccess Study: doi.org/10.1007/s003...
+ Data: www.ocean.iap.ac.cn
Bar graph showing global ocean heat content change in the upper 2000 m from the late 1950s through 2025. There is a long-term warming in the time series, which is using IAP/CAS data.
January 10, 2026 at 4:32 PM