Scientists studying the history of climate variations in Arctic regions have confirmed that the Northern Polar regions were much warmer than today. Over the last quarter-million years, the most significant arctic warming took place some 130,000 years in the past. The warming then had a much greater effect on the ice and vegetation than could happen now with the relatively small increase in global temperature.
Image: Two polar bears sparring on the arctic tundra in Canada.
This is the conclusion from From World Climate Report where an excellent analysis of the scientific report may be found:
Arctic Lessons from the Last Interglacial (Polar bears survived)
The next time that you see Al Gore’s photo collection of decaying glaciers and polar bears drowning as the distance between icebergs and the shore is too far to swim, think of the LIG as a natural period in Earth’s history when hippopotamus and the water tortoise were widespread as far north as Great Britain and birch forests reached the shores of the Arctic Ocean. Remember that then, as now, the Arctic naturally warmed more dramatically than the rest of the world, and also keep in mind that our modern global climate models – those that sit next to the panic button – are stumbling around that reality.