--- description: Storms brewing in the North Atlantic might heat up the Arctic. title: Storm May Raise North Pole Temperature 50 Degrees image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt25cfe0fd2b9763f3/6988772bf887dc05a4e93ef8/icey.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Science](/section/science/) ## Science Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [weather](/tag/weather/) ## weather Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # North Pole Set to Unfreeze as Temperature Soars ## Video: Kiribati: See Life on the Front Lines of Climate Change [Watch (HLS stream): Kiribati: See Life on the Front Lines of Climate Change](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/mQPqsfCg.m3u8) (3:10)  _Published 2015-12-10. The island nation of Kiribati, halfway between Hawaii and Australia, is a touch of paradise. But thie way of life is under threat. Climate change could spell doom to the Pacific island's very existence._ by [Alexandra Sifferlin](/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 13, 2023 9:20 PM CUTPublished: Dec 30, 2015 3:46 PM CUT  Icescape at Geographic North Pole, Arctic Ocean Icescape at Geographic North Pole, Arctic OceanGetty Images by [Alexandra Sifferlin](/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 13, 2023 9:20 PM CUTPublished: Dec 30, 2015 3:46 PM CUT **Correction appended** Stormy weather in the North Atlantic is set to bring balmy weather to the world’s northernmost point. Temperatures at the North Pole could hit 40 degrees, [according to Discovery News](http://news.discovery.com/earth/weather-extreme-events/huge-storm-may-raise-north-pole-temps-50-degrees-151229.htm "undefined"), which would be about 50 degrees higher than average for this time of year. Storms over Iceland and Greenland, fairly common in winter, are pushing warmer air to the Arctic region. Fluctuations in temperature are actually not uncommon in the Arctic region, [Mashable reports](http://mashable.com/2015/12/28/freak-atlantic-storm-uk-frank/#MkeucxvdWaqU "undefined"), but a 50 to 60 degree shift would be very notable. There have reportedly only been three other times since 1948 that temperatures in the North Pole have hit or risen above freezing in December. These high temperatures could impact sea ice formations that are already at historic lows in other seasons. _This article originally misidentified a temperature reading as belonging to the North Pole._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4164104/north-pole-temperature-heat/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4164104/north-pole-temperature-heat/"},"headline":"North Pole Set to Unfreeze as Temperature Soars","datePublished":"2015-12-30T15:46:14.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-13T21:20:19.000Z","description":"Storms in Iceland and Greenland pushing warm air northwards","url":"https://time.com/4164104/north-pole-temperature-heat/","keywords":["weather","arctic"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt25cfe0fd2b9763f3/6988772bf887dc05a4e93ef8/icey.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alexandra Sifferlin","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt25cfe0fd2b9763f3/6988772bf887dc05a4e93ef8/icey.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"123523802","caption":"123523802","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/weather/","name":"weather"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4164104/north-pole-temperature-heat/","name":"North Pole Set to Unfreeze as Temperature Soars"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Kiribati: See Life on the Front Lines of Climate Change","description":"The island nation of Kiribati, halfway between Hawaii and Australia, is a touch of paradise. 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