Arctic temperature reaches 2,000-year high

The Arctic is hotter today than it has been for 2,000 years, scientists have found.

By collecting information from lake sediments, tree rings and ice cores, researchers found that Arctic summer temperatures began climbing in 1900 and have peaked in the last ten years.

Rising levels of greenhouse gases are responsible, say the scientists, and the warming looks set to melt ice and raise sea levels around the world.

Image: Darrell Kaufman, Northern Arizona University