Arctic sea ice could hit maximum extent ‘much earlier’ than usual

A drop of water falls off an iceberg melting in south-western Greenland, which has recorded unusually warm temperatures this winter. Photograph: David Goldman/AP

An extreme heat event in the Arctic could cause it to reach the maximum of the extent of its ice for this year “considerably earlier” than usual, a scientist has warned.

Temperature records were broken in Norway last week, with rain falling at Svalbard airport, and unusually warm temperatures recorded in Greenland and the Russian archipelago of Franz Josef Land.