By Mary O’KEEFE

The first ever heat advisory has been issued for Alaska this week. Yep, that’s right – Alaska. 

Now technically it is not the first time for unusually high temperatures in Alaska, but the National Weather Service (NWS) only recently allowed for heat advisories to be issued in the state. The first advisory was issued for Fairbanks with temperatures reaching 85 degrees Fahrenheit. And, oh yeah, there is also a flood advisory in Alaska as rivers deal with increased snowmelt. 

The NWS offices in Fairbanks and Juneau issued the initial heat advisory on June 12 followed by an updated advisory on June 16 warning of temperatures up to 29.4 to 31.1°C (85° to 88°F) in the Fairbanks area. The NWS continued the advisory on June 17. 

Now these temperatures may not seem high to us, but it’s different for a state that is used to dealing with extreme cold. 

“Let me preemptively cut [off] anyone for saying upper 80 F is not real heat. As Alaskans, we do not pass judgement on the lower 48 places that shut down with 2” of snow,” explained Brian Brettschneider, climatologist at the NWS Alaska Region Headquarters, on BlueSky. 

Another thing to remember is that Alaska homes and offices are built for cold temperatures and not for heat, so they do not have air conditioning. So heat can present a real danger. 

“Flooding caused by snowmelt continues to be possible … Rapid snowmelt and ice jams could lead to flooding of rivers and streams across the North Slope. Access to roads, airstrips and low-lying infrastructure may be affected,” according to NWS. 

This is not because of a rainstorm but because of melting snow due to the heat. 

Again, warmer weather is not unheard of during an Alaskan summer but this is the first time the weather service has issued a heat advisory in the state. And Alaska is heating up really fast. 

Alaska is warming two to three times faster than the global average. The physical and ecological effects of warming are evident around the state. Glaciers are shrinking, permafrost is thawing and sea ice is diminishing. The growing season is longer and fish, mammals, birds and insects have increased in numbers in some areas and dropped sharply in others. This combination of environmental effects has far-reaching consequences for people statewide, according to the Fifth National Climate Assessment, nca2023.globalchange.gov.

Alaska is just another canary in the coal mine. I think we use that phrase a lot but there are times when it is the best way to describe the situation. 

Taking caged canaries into the coal mine was first used in the late 1800s. They were taken into the mines to determine if there were toxic gases present. Canaries were more sensitive to these gases and would succumb to carbon monoxide and other dangerous gases before it affected the miners. 

This early warning system was taken seriously. But today, for some reason with so many warnings of climate danger and so many examples of canaries in the coal mines, we are not taking it as seriously as those early miners did. 

We are going to see a significant cooling trend after today’s heat of 90. By Saturday we will have temperatures in the mid to upper 70s for the weekend. There may be some wind on Friday with gusts up to 20 mph.