Deadly Polar Bear Attack Highlights Growing Threat; Record Cold Sweeps Brazil; Natural Climate Variability; + Antarctica Back Below -70C (-94F)

While the recent warm anomalies helped forward The Narrative, the overall trend on Antarctica remains one of inconvenience: cooling temperatures and expanding ice.

Deadly Polar Bear Attack Highlights Growing Threat

A fatal attack at a remote radar site in the Canadian Arctic has highlighted growing concerns about increasing polar bear numbers.

The incident occurred last Thursday at an outpost on Brevoort Island, in Canada's far northeastern Nunavut territory, where a pair of polar bears attacked and killed a worker, as reported by Nasittuq Corporation, the facility's operator.

"Two polar bears attacked, resulting in the tragic loss of one of our valued employees," wrote the logistics company in a statement. "Nasittuq employees responded swiftly to the situation, and one of the bears was subsequently put down."

The recent surge in polar bear numbers has raised safety concerns, not only in Canada but also in Greenland, where there has been a notable increase in bear sightings onshore, most notably in East and Southwest regions.

The Polar Bear Specialist Group recently estimated the population in East Greenland at around 650 bears, far higher than expected. A study then identified an additional 234 bears in Southeast Greenland which, again, far exceeded earlier estimates.

Former Prime Minister of Greenland, Aleqa Hammond, has linked the rise in bear sightings and incidents near communities to the abundant sea ice offshore. Hammond noted that polar bears, which rarely venture into Southern or Western Greenland, have been spotted near towns and even close to Nuuk, Greenland’s capital.

The situation has become so critical that locals have had to shoot several bears for safety reasons, as they encroached on populated areas. The Greenlandic government is now under pressure to increase the annual hunting quota.

This is some twist to The Narrative, one that is still being peddled by the likes of the BBC and National Geographic even in 2024:

Record Cold Sweeps Brazil

Much of South America, including Brazil, is grappling with a fierce cold wave that has meteorologists reaching for the record books.

A powerful polar air mass traversing up Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia has entered Southern regions of Brazil, leading to record-low temperatures, widespread frost, and even rare snowfall in areas unaccustomed to such conditions.

The cold has even been felt in São Paulo, with the city, typically mild even in winter, enduring its coldest temperatures in years.