ARCTIC: Region’s temperatures climb to record high

Record-high autumn temperatures, warming permafrost, shrinking reindeer herds and the ongoing northern march of shrubs and trees into new habitat are signs that global warming is reshaping the Arctic, federal officials said yesterday.

“There continues to be widespread and, in some cases, dramatic evidence of an overall warming of the Arctic system,” warned authors in a report that draws on scientific data and analyses by nearly 50 scientists in 10 countries.

It is the third annual snapshot of the rapidly changing region, which is warming twice as fast as the global average.