Melting icebergs drift in one of the harbours of Greenland’s capital, Nuuk, on Wednesday.Siegfried Modola/The Globe and Mail
It’s not only Donald Trump and his threats that are causing uncertainty in Greenland these days. The island is also grappling with unusually warm weather and a lack of snow, creating havoc for hunters, fishers and tour operators.
Instead of bundling up from head to toe to ward off frigid temperatures typical of this time of year, people in Nuuk have been enjoying brilliant sunshine and shedding their hats and gloves. On Wednesday, the thermometer hit -4 C and on Friday, the forecast calls for clear skies and highs of 0 C. Two weeks ago, residents had to break out their umbrellas in the rain.
“It’s a strange winter,” said Alan Madson as he walked along a popular cross country ski trail, which has been shortened because there’s so little snow. “Last Saturday I was taking a long walk out in the fields and it was like the month of May.”
Pedestrians walk in Nuuk on an unusually warm day. The capital saw its warmest January on record last month.Siegfried Modola/The Globe and Mail
According to preliminary figures from the Danish Meteorological Institute, Nuuk experienced its warmest January on record last month. The temperature averaged 0.2 degrees Celsius, well above the historical average of -7.7 C, and topped 10 C a few days. December was also warmer than usual and some communities reported daytime highs that were eight degrees above normal.
“Climate change is already clearly visible on Greenland,” Jacob Hoyer, the head of Denmark’s National Centre for Climate Research, told Reuters. “From the records we can see that it is warming four times faster than the mean temperature hike in the world.”
Canada and France set to establish diplomatic presence in Greenland amid Trump threats
The U.S. President has been threatening to acquire Greenland, which is a self-governing part of Denmark, largely to gain access to the island’s mineral riches. Researchers say those resources could become more accessible as the climate warms and ice melts.
Mr. Trump has backed off recent threats to invade Greenland but he has said that negotiations were under way that could give the U.S. sovereignty over sections of Greenland, and open the door for American companies to exploit the minerals. However, leaders in Denmark and Greenland have said that sovereignty is not up for discussion.
The warmer weather has already had an impact in Nuuk and across the island.
This ski lift is closed due to a lack of snow. None of the runs on the city’s ski hill have opened yet.Siegfried Modola/The Globe and Mail
The city’s ski hill is largely bereft of snow and none of the runs have opened yet. On Wednesday, the only people enjoying the slopes were Paninngua Pedersen and her five-year old daughter, who were sliding down a small hill on a plastic sled. “It’s different,” Ms. Pedersen said.
The city’s roads, normally covered in hard-packed snow, are largely clear and coated with dust in places because tire studs and snow chains have ground up the asphalt.
Outside the capital, the warm weather has forced officials to postpone the annual Musk Ox hunt. Amalie Jessen, a manager in the Ministry of Fisheries, Hunting, Agriculture and Self-Sustainability, said the ice wasn’t thick enough to support the ATVs, sleds and other vehicles hunters use to cross waterways.
“The fjords, lakes and streams have to be covered by ice, and the earth covered by snow at least 10 centimetres before motorized vehicles are allowed to drive,” said Ms. Jessen. So far, the hunting areas don’t meet that threshold.
Greenland’s Prime Minister warns that Trump still aims for control of the Arctic island
“I’m used to -20 C, or -30 C,” said Jens Schmidt, just before he headed out on his fishing boat Wednesday morning. “This is the strangest winter, very warm.” Normally there would be ice all over the harbour, “but this year, there’s not so much ice.”
The unusual weather has forced the fisherman to change how he catches cod, halibut and red fish. Instead of going out with a net and pulling his catch up by hand every day, he’s setting out a line. “This year we have to take a long line out and leave it for overnight and just pick it up the next day.”
Mr. Schmidt spent nearly 30 years as a chef, but he gave it up to start fishing about four years ago. “I like hunting. I like fishing, so I try it,” he said as he surveyed a table full of seal meat from one of his recent hunts.
A fisherman climbs onto his boat at the start of the day in Nuuk’s harbour.Siegfried Modola/The Globe and Mail
The bare ground has also forced some tour operators to start cancelling snowmobile excursions.
“We have to talk with some of our customers, to tell them there is a possibility that we can’t go out on the tours we have created for them,” said Lucas Frank Moller of Raw Arctic, which specializes in adventure tour packages. “I think this is the first winter I’ve seen where there’s not a lot of snow.”
Gaba Egede, who works on a small transport ship that runs supplies to fishing boats during spring and summer, said he’s noticed the fishing season starting earlier because of warmer weather. “It’s changing so quick some times,” he said, while puffing a cigarette during a break from maintenance duties.
When it came to questions about global warming, he shrugged and replied: “We can’t do anything about it.”
Siegfried Modola/The Globe and Mail