Greenland Ice Sheet Gained 8 Gigatons Yesterday

The latest data from Greenland reveals a stark in the season’s fortunes, the sheet is accumulating mass at an impressive pace.

Yesterday alone (March 16) saw 8 Gigatons accumulate—enough to bury Central Park under 8,400 feet of snow/ice:

This has helped push the cumulative SMB for 2024-25 comfortably above the 1981-2010 mean:

If the Greenland Ice Sheet were truly collapsing, as the alarmists claim, then its mass balance would be consistently negative. Yet the data tells a different story. Short-term melting events are cherry-picked by the media, but overall trends remain stable.

The data speaks for itself—Greenland’s ice is holding strong.

Bitter Cold And Heavy Snow Grip South Korea

South Korea is bracing for a deep freeze as cold air surges south, delivering frigid winds and heavy snowfall.

The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) warned that temperatures will plunge below freezing across most of the country, with biting wind chills. Gangwon and North Gyeongsang provinces are set to bear the brunt of the snow.

A low-pressure system moving in from the west will intensify the wintry blast. Snowfall began in Gangwon and Honam early Monday, and will have spread to the capital region and South Chungcheong Province by nightfall. Nearly all regions will have seen snow by Tuesday.

“This system will bring strong precipitation, fierce winds, and even lightning,” a KMA official cautioned.

Gangwon’s mountainous areas are seeing 6 – 12 inches, with more to come, the eastern coast and parts of North Gyeongsang likewise. Elsewhere, spring snowfall will range in the inches, including on Jeju’s higher elevations.

By Tueday, more than a foot is expected to have accumulated on Gangwon’s mountains, while 4 inches is forecast for the likes of Seoul, Incheon, Gyeonggi, and other inland regions.

Even southern areas like Daegu and South Gyeongsang’s western interior will see measurable March snowfall.

Temperatures will plunge to -4C (25F) for many Monday, dropping further on Tuesday and Wednesday to -7C (19F).

With frigid air locked in place, the country remains in a deep freeze for the week.

Great Wall Of China Blanketed

March snowflakes have blanketed the Jinshanling section of the Great Wall over the weekend.

China’s Hebei Province has experienced a sharp temperature drop, with unseasonal snows sweeping in.

Much of Asia is enduring an extended winter this year, with accumulations persisting across wide swaths of the continent:

This is maintaining total snow mass for the Northern Hemisphere well-above the 1982-2012 average:

California Peaks Walloped

​California ski resorts were hit with more snow over the weekend, adding to the impressive totals from earlier last week.

As of Friday morning, several resorts were reporting significant accumulations over the preceding 72 hours: Sugar Bowl had seen 35 inches, Kirkwood 37 inches, and Bear Valley 42 inches—to name just three.

This influx of snow has enhanced the state’s snowpack, with the Northern Sierra reaching 102% of its average for the time of year.

Snow started up again Sunday afternoon, with higher elevations reportedly picking up another foot or two, with lake-level areas expecting 6 to 12 inches. This continued accumulation promises excellent conditions for skiing and snowboarding.

El Niño and Natural Forcings

Meteorologist Ryan Maue has highlighted recent data and research that points to the 2023 global temperature spike being largely driven by El Niño, with additional factors such as increased solar radiation and potential atmospheric changes.

The temperature anomaly observed in 2023-24 is not without historical precedent, writes Maue on X: “Turns out we just experienced a similar warming spike like 1877 with the rapid onset El Niño of early 2023.”

One new research paper —currently under review— suggests that the recent warming surge resulted from a combination of El Niño and increased shortwave radiation reaching the Northern Hemisphere surface.

Another study links reduced low cloud cover to lower planetary albedo, meaning more sunlight was absorbed by Earth.

“This calls into question the hypothesis that the observed 2023 surge cannot be caused by internal variability alone,” Maue contines. However, “wild cards” include the Hunga Tonga volcanic eruption and reduced sulfur emissions from shipping.

Another analysis in Science suggests that record-low planetary albedo, caused by reduced cloud cover, was the main reason for amplified warming.

Maue concludes: “…the recent global warming spike (2023-24) was the result of natural causes or internal climate variability… The last 3 years are not evidence of accelerating global warming due to external forcing from greenhouse gasses.”