Air temperature records from land-based weather stations in the Arctic

Continuous instrumental records of Arctic air temperatures began around 1880. At most locations, temperatures measured since 2005 have been higher than at any time in the historical record. Annual average temperatures across the whole Arctic have been consistently around 1.5 centigrades or more higher than they were from 1961 to 1990. These temperatures exceed even those experienced during a warm period in the 1930s and 1940s. The increase in average temperature since 1980 has been twice as high over the Arctic as it has been over the rest of the world. In attributing the cause of warming in the Arctic, SWIPA refers to the findings of the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). This states that "Most of the observed increase in global average temperatures since the mid-20th century is very likely [> 90% probability] due to the observed increase in anthropogenic GHG [greenhouse gas] concentrations".