But NOAA notes that observations in recent decades suggest that minimum sea ice ... "Polar Bear Assessment Brings Good and Troubling News." October 2019. By Madison Dapcevich.

Polar bear swimming in open water. Photo by: USGS. Polar bears ... NOAA highlights the disappearance of arctic sea ice and reduced snow cover as the major threats to the species.

Arctic air temperatures are still increasing at twice the rate of global air temperatures, a NOAA-led report has found. Rapidly rising air temperatures has an effect on wildlife including polar bears.

ABC13 spoke to an NOAA climatologist about the current condition of the polar vortex and where the bitter cold air could linger this winter.

Experts within and outside of NOAA identified almost 40 alternatives for mitigating potential gaps in polar satellite data, which offer a variety of benefits and challenges.