ARCTIC: Russia’s North Pole Plans & more – 23rd Dec 2025

Aluu from Oakley! This is the Rorshok Arctic Update from the 23rd of December twenty twenty-five. A quick summary of what’s going down North of the Arctic Circle!

As the year comes to a close, it’s time to reflect on another year in the Arctic. On Tuesday the 16th, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, (NOAA), released its annual Arctic Report Card.

The headlines from the Arctic environment this year start with the obvious: it’s been much warmer than average, outpacing the global warming average. The Arctic saw its wettest year on record, with temperatures too warm for snowfall in many areas. In March, sea ice cover was recorded at its lowest since records began. On land, glacier ice loss has tripled since the nineteen nineties, with this increased melting causing many inhabited areas to suffer destructive floods. The Arctic is turning green, with warmer years allowing plants to grow where it was previously not possible. And amid all this, local communities work to adapt and survive in an ever-changing north.

To read the full report card, check out the link in the show notes.

Even the most remote areas of the Arctic aren’t free from sudden changes. On Monday the 15th, Vladimir Putin signed a decree ordering the government to participate in the establishment of a North Pole base. This isn’t the first time Russia has tried to build a facility at the North Pole, with attempts in twenty twelve and twenty eighteen failing due to unstable sea ice.

The new base, named the Artur Chilingarov Ice Base, will also earn money as a tourist destination. The website offers five-day visits at a rate of over $45,000 US dollars. If the base is set up in twenty twenty-six as reported, Russia could soon be flying its flag over the North Pole.

Russia’s determination to dominate the Arctic spreads across the ocean. Normally, the Russian shipping season ends in November with sea ice freezing the coastal route. However, as reported by shipping news agency gCaptain on Tuesday the 16th, Russia has, for the first time, deployed its entire fleet of eight nuclear-powered icebreakers simultaneously to maintain winter shipping lanes, underscoring the importance of Arctic energy exports to the Russian economy.

With the EU recently declaring it will end all imports of Russian natural gas and oil by next year, Russia is doing everything it can to ensure it sells as much as possible to Europe before it loses its biggest customer.

However, sometimes Russia cannot do everything on its own and needs to cooperate with its neighbors in the north. On Thursday the 18th, the Norwegian Ministry of Fisheries announced that it has come to an agreement with the Russian government over the two countries’ shared northern fishing grounds.

Norway and Russia both rely on cod for their northern fishing industries, but in order to ensure sustainable fishing practices, they annually agree on a shared cod quota. The twenty twenty-six catch quota will be the lowest since nineteen ninety-one as cod populations have dropped substantially. The Ministry of Fisheries writes that this small quota hopes to allow a recovery in the cod population, leading to better years.

While Russia and Norway are cooperating, the relationship between the US, Greenland and Denmark continues to worsen. On Monday the 22nd, the US government announced that it has appointed Jeff Landry, the governor of Louisiana and a vocal supporter of the Trump administration annexing Greenland, as its special envoy to Greenland.

The response from both Greenland and Denmark was swift and strong. Jens-Frederik Nielsen, Greenland’s Prime Minister, and his Danish counterpart, Mette Frederiksen, released an immediate joint statement demanding respect and affirming that they will never allow the US to take control of the Arctic island.

On another note, ocean health doesn’t just mean catching fewer fish: managing pollution is key to keeping the seas healthy. On Thursday the 18th, the Clean Arctic Alliance, a group of environmental non-profits, wrote that the newest proposal by the International Maritime Organization is a good step towards reducing pollution in the Arctic.

The proposal would establish an Arctic fuel measure for all ships travelling through the north, meaning they can only sail across the north if they use fuel that releases much less black carbon emissions. The proposal will be voted on in February, and could be an important first step towards reducing shipping’s climate impact.

Speaking of ocean health, there’s a virus spreading among whales that is causing alarm. According to a story published by the BBC on Friday the 19th, scientists have found a way to use drones to collect breath samples from whales in the Arctic, letting us measure their health in more detail than ever before.

Researchers found a highly infectious and deadly virus spreading across whales, dolphins and porpoises in the Arctic, jumping from species to species easily. The virus might be linked to the recent rise in mass deaths of whales in the north, and scientists hope this discovery can help detect and prevent similar threats to ocean life in the future.

The animals that call the Arctic home are a great indicator of the health of the whole ecosystem, so tracking them in the north is very important.

On Monday the 15th, the scientific journal Nature published a visual essay by seabird specialist Olivier Chastel, which details how birds bring pollution to the northern islands of Svalbard.

Over twenty-five years of study, Chastel has discovered how pollutants like microplastics and mercury are spreading from southern oceans into the Arctic. These infect the fish, which are then eaten by seabirds. Through this chain, we can see how the actions of countries far from the Arctic end up causing real harm even in the far north.

To check out the essay, take a look at the link in the show notes.

Meanwhile, in Sweden, environmental targets are not being met. According to environmental coordinator Jörgen Naalisvaara and the local government in Norbotten, Northern Sweden, the region is off track to meet its environmental targets by twenty thirty despite over 150 different programs and initiatives put in place by local and national governments to set the region on the right track.

Naalisvaara believes that the push to extract more and more natural resources from northern Sweden means that Norbotten will never be able to meet these targets, so either the government has to extract fewer resources from the land, or set realistic targets.

Canada certainly wants to keep its mining industry afloat, no matter how expensive. On Thursday the 18th, Jeremy King, the chief executive of Burgundy Mines, announced his company has received a loan of over $80 million US dollars from the federal government in order to ensure that its diamond mine, the Ekati mine in the Northwest Territories, remains open.

With global diamond prices falling, Ekati has laid off hundreds of workers in twenty twenty-five and owes millions to creditors. As a key employer in the region, the government has agreed to finance the mine, hoping it can remain operational until diamond prices rise once again.

Christmas is the season to be kind and generous, and even polar bears are showing their holiday spirit. On Wednesday, researchers from Polar Bears International announced they have monitored a rare case of a female polar bear adopting a new cub. The researchers had seen this female with a single cub in the Spring, having recently given birth to one bear. But in November, when she was spotted again, she had a second cub with her that was about the same age as her first.

Polar bear mothers are very maternal animals, and it is believed that if a mother bear discovers a cub in distress, she will sometimes choose to take care of the cub. This is a very rare behaviour though, with only thirteen adoptions ever documented in the almost fifty years humans have been monitoring polar bears. Whatever the reason, this cub’s new family has given it a much greater chance of surviving.

Aaand that’s it for this week!

We just want to say a huge thank you to everyone who’s been listening, subscribing, and sharing their thoughts with us. Your support keeps us going, and we’re grateful for every one of you. Happy holidays!

Takuss