In the high latitudes near the North Pole, sea ice cover is reaching its peak. The Arctic is still shrouded in perpetual night, the first rays of sun remain weeks away. But for the past week, over much of the region, it’s been freakishly warm – so warm it’s alarming scientists who study the polar ice cap and how it interacts with the sea and sky around it. In February, north of the 80th parallel, the typical temperature is about 30 degrees below zero Celsius (minus 22 degrees Fahrenheit), said Jennifer Francis, an atmospheric scientist and research professor at Rutgers University. "Right now, it’s more like minus 8," Francis told Seeker.
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