The Arctic is turning brown because of weird weather — and it could accelerate climate change

Browning in the far north suggests that the Arctic carbon cycle is more complex than scientists have believed.

Over the last few years Arctic scientists have reported a surprising finding: large areas of the Arctic are turning brown. This is in part due to extreme events linked to winter weather, such as sudden, short-lived periods of extreme warmth. These events are occurring as the climate warms, which is happening twice as fast in the Arctic compared with the rest of the planet. Extreme events are therefore happening more and more often, with increasingly severe effects – including widespread damage and death in Arctic plants.