{"id":290645,"date":"2023-12-10T12:59:01","date_gmt":"2023-12-10T11:59:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=290645"},"modified":"2023-12-10T12:59:04","modified_gmt":"2023-12-10T11:59:04","slug":"despite-hand-wringing-about-churchill-polar-bears-this-year-2023-wasnt-their-worst-summer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=290645","title":{"rendered":"Despite hand-wringing about Churchill polar bears this year, 2023 wasn\u2019t their worst summer"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From polarbearscience<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For months, the media has been bleating about the poor polar bears of Churchill suffering from lack of sea ice blamed on human-caused climate change during the so-called\u00a0\u2018hottest year\u2019 on record<\/a>: in\u00a0April<\/a>,\u00a0July<\/a>,\u00a0August<\/a>,\u00a0November<\/a>, and\u00a0December<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

From a Churchill Wild<\/a> report on the condition of WH polar bears, January 2023<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, while breakup of sea ice on Hudson Bay was indeed early this year<\/a> and freeze-up came earlier than usual<\/a>, Western Hudson polar bears apparently spent only the fifth-longest time on land since 1979, according to a polar bear specialist. How is that even possible, given that sea ice conditions should be getting worse and worse as CO2 levels increase and average global temperatures rise? As I\u2019ve pointed out before<\/a>, it is apparent that Arctic sea ice is not closely coupled to CO2 levels (as the \u2018experts\u2019 claim), which makes me wonder if there is any ecologically-relevant correlation between CO2 and sea ice at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Money quote <\/strong>from Geoff York, from Polar Bears International: \u201cAs of Nov. 28 this year, the bears in western Hudson Bay had spent 164 days on shore, he said. That\u2019s tied for the fifth-longest amount of time the bears have spent off the ice since 1979<\/strong>.<\/em>\u201d CBC, 9 December 2023<\/a> [my bold]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hudson Bay sea ice & polar bears<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sea ice over Hudson Bay at 8 December 2023:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Locations of tagged polar bears at 8 December 2023 (those on land will be denning pregnant females), note that the bear in the south is on a patch of low-concentration ice (see chart above):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For months, the media has been bleating about the poor polar bears of Churchill suffering from lack of sea ice blamed on human-caused climate change during the so-called\u00a0\u2018hottest year\u2019 on record: in\u00a0April,\u00a0July,\u00a0August,\u00a0November, and\u00a0December.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":290652,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"For months, the media has been bleating about the poor polar bears of Churchill suffering from lack of sea ice blamed on human-caused climate change during the so-called\u00a0\u2018hottest year\u2019 on record: in\u00a0April,\u00a0July,\u00a0August,\u00a0November, and\u00a0December.","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691818233,691825190,691818056,691818076,691825191],"class_list":["post-290645","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-691818233","tag-churchill-polar-bears","tag-climate-change","tag-co2","tag-hudson-bay-sea-ice","fallback-thumbnail"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1dBP","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":285442,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=285442","url_meta":{"origin":290645,"position":0},"title":"Churchill so far has few problems with polar bears despite predictions of a record bad year","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"10\/28\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"A polar bear near Churchill, Manitoba, Canada Churchill is one of the few human settlements where polar bears can be observed in the wild. Frequently called \u201cLords of the Arctic\u201d, these animals are huge. Male polar bears can grow to more than 600 kg (1,320 lbs) and stand 3.05 metres\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Churchill\"","block_context":{"text":"Churchill","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=churchill"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/0308738.jpg?fit=1200%2C750&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/0308738.jpg?fit=1200%2C750&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/0308738.jpg?fit=1200%2C750&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/0308738.jpg?fit=1200%2C750&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/0308738.jpg?fit=1200%2C750&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":288203,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=288203","url_meta":{"origin":290645,"position":1},"title":"Polar bear sea ice habitat update at 15 November & problem bears in Western Hudson Bay","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"11\/20\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"From polarbearscience Abundant polar bear habitat this fall across the Arctic so far, with only Hudson Bay sea ice formation a bit behind schedule. However, Churchill has not seen the\u00a0anticipated spike\u00a0in\u00a0problem bear\u00a0reports, given the vocal pronouncement by\u00a0polar bear specialists\u00a0that it should be experiencing more and more problems with bears when\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Churchill\"","block_context":{"text":"Churchill","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=churchill"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/R.jpg?fit=1200%2C873&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/R.jpg?fit=1200%2C873&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/R.jpg?fit=1200%2C873&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/R.jpg?fit=1200%2C873&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/R.jpg?fit=1200%2C873&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":274040,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=274040","url_meta":{"origin":290645,"position":2},"title":"Conservation officers misleading the public about polar bear problems in Churchill","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"08\/17\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Canadian government-funded media outlet CBC ran a\u00a0story this morning\u00a0about problem polar bears in the town of Churchill, Manitoba, the self-described \u201cPolar Bear Capital of the World\u201d that contains some very misleading statements from Manitoba Conservation officers.","rel":"","context":"In \"Churchill\"","block_context":{"text":"Churchill","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=churchill"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/00a26993240506963c58299fa719f917a8.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/00a26993240506963c58299fa719f917a8.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/00a26993240506963c58299fa719f917a8.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/00a26993240506963c58299fa719f917a8.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/00a26993240506963c58299fa719f917a8.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":416591,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=416591","url_meta":{"origin":290645,"position":3},"title":"Polar bears and Arctic Sea ice\u00a0status","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"12\/08\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Positive news on the Arctic front as far as polar bears are concerned so far this year, with no reports of dead or dying bears, or of horrific attacks on humans that I\u2019ve heard about. Not much to talk about but here\u2019s what I\u2019ve found.","rel":"","context":"In \"Arctic sea ice\"","block_context":{"text":"Arctic sea ice","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=arctic-sea-ice"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/OIG-2023-10-23T132037.775.jpeg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/OIG-2023-10-23T132037.775.jpeg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/OIG-2023-10-23T132037.775.jpeg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/OIG-2023-10-23T132037.775.jpeg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":237713,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=237713","url_meta":{"origin":290645,"position":4},"title":"Where were the starving W. Hudson Bay polar bears in 2020 if the population had declined by 2021?","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"01\/04\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"All I\u2019ve seen are photos of\u00a0fat bears\u00a0and\u00a0fat cubs,\u00a0even a triplet litter\u00a0in fall 2020. The shore of WH near Churchill should have been abounding with starving bears in 2020 (and in 2015), if the experts were right about starving bears preceding a population decline.","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/image-118.png?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/image-118.png?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/image-118.png?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/image-118.png?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":289393,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=289393","url_meta":{"origin":290645,"position":5},"title":"Western Hudson Bay polar bears on their way offshore to hunt seals: freeze-up has begun","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"12\/01\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"From polarbearscience Official confirmation\u00a0has come in this morning that polar bears that have spent the summer fasting along Western Hudson Bay now have enough ice to move offshore. That makes this year\u00a0a bit later than usual\u00a0(average is 16 November) but is not one of the extremely late freeze-ups,\u00a0as happened in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"polar bears\"","block_context":{"text":"polar bears","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=polar-bears"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/00Polar-Bear-Paul-Nicklen-NG.jpg?fit=1190%2C785&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/00Polar-Bear-Paul-Nicklen-NG.jpg?fit=1190%2C785&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/00Polar-Bear-Paul-Nicklen-NG.jpg?fit=1190%2C785&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/00Polar-Bear-Paul-Nicklen-NG.jpg?fit=1190%2C785&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/00Polar-Bear-Paul-Nicklen-NG.jpg?fit=1190%2C785&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/image-201.png?fit=1600%2C1066&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290645","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/121246920"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=290645"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290645\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":290654,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290645\/revisions\/290654"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/290652"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=290645"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=290645"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=290645"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}