While Arctic sea ice extent was tracking at record low levels in July and August, the pace of ice loss slowed considerably after the middle of August, despite above-average air temperatures over much of the Arctic Ocean.

Anthropogenic climate change is causing innumerable changes to our planet. It can be disorienting, as every day brings news of a new extinction or climate change-related threat, and if you’re not a scientist it can be hard to know what to do about it.

Flying over Antarctica, it’s hard to see what all the fuss is about.

The eastern two-thirds of Antarctica is covered by an ice sheet so large that if it melted the sea would rise by 52 metres.

This year ended with unusual cold in the USA and other parts of the Northern Hemisphere.

Something strange is happening to the Antarctic’s sea ice.

Science fiction is rife with fanciful tales of deadly organisms emerging from the ice and wreaking havoc on unsuspecting human victims.