What Is The Role Of Climate Change In Alaska

The village of Shismaref sits along the edge of an island sitting above Alaska's north coast. Although about 6.4 kilometers (4 miles) long, in some places the island is less than an eighth of a kilometer wide. In recent years, their island home has been losing ground due to coastal erosion. Some houses in this area of 563 people already have fallen into the water. They voted to abandon their island home rather than try to continue guarding it from further land loss. The warming was due to climate change has sped up this process in the Arctic. That has expanded the destruction of Shishmaref. Climate change has increased summer and winter temperatures in Alaska. This warms the land and sea, making coastal towns vulnerable to storms. Each autumn,