In February 2025, a group of scientists expecting to study snow in the Arctic instead found themselves standing in pools of meltwater, surrounded by green tundra and rain.
Their fieldwork in Svalbard, an island chain in the Arctic Ocean, became an eye-opening experience—and a powerful warning about just how quickly the Arctic climate is changing.
Dr. James Bradley, an environmental scientist from Queen Mary University of London, led the research team and recently shared their experience in a commentary published in Nature Communications.
Svalbard is warming at a rate six to seven times faster than the global average. What used to be a reliably frozen winter is now seeing regular warm spells, heavy rain, and rapid snowmelt.
“The thick snow we expected was gone within days,” Dr. Bradley recalled. “The clothes we packed felt like they belonged to a different climate.”
Instead of the extreme cold they had prepared for, the team worked bare-handed in the rain, a shocking shift from normal Arctic winter conditions.
The team’s goal was to study freshly fallen snow, but over two weeks, it only snowed once. Most of the precipitation came as rain, which melted the snowpack and flooded the ground.
For Ph.D. student Laura Molares Moncayo, the warm weather didn’t just ruin their research—it also raised safety concerns.
Slushy snow made snowmobiles unusable, and the team had to rethink how they could safely travel through the field, especially in areas where polar bears are present.
This dramatic thaw reflects what scientists call “Arctic amplification”—a pattern where the Arctic warms faster than the rest of the planet.
The researchers had expected signs of change, but they didn’t expect to see such extreme warming during what should be the coldest part of the year.
The melting snow and exposed ground triggered bursts of biological activity, and researchers saw plants blooming far earlier than usual.
These changes aren’t just inconvenient for scientists—they also have serious consequences for the entire Arctic ecosystem.
Warmer winters can disrupt wildlife survival, increase greenhouse gas emissions from thawing permafrost, and speed up climate change through feedback loops.
The team warns that we urgently need better monitoring and more data on winter conditions in the Arctic. Right now, this season is the least studied—yet it’s changing the fastest.
They also urge policymakers to shift from simply reacting to changes, to planning ahead.
The warming Arctic winter isn’t a future problem; it’s happening now, and it’s putting pressure on everything from scientific research to the safety and infrastructure of Indigenous Arctic communities.
As Dr. Bradley puts it, “The Arctic is changing faster than expected, and winter is at the heart of that shift.”
Their commentary, titled “Svalbard winter warming is reaching melting point,” reminds us that what was once unthinkable—rain and green tundra in the Arctic winter—is now reality.
Source: Queen Mary, University of London.
