{"id":293140,"date":"2023-12-30T13:17:19","date_gmt":"2023-12-30T12:17:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=293140"},"modified":"2023-12-30T13:17:21","modified_gmt":"2023-12-30T12:17:21","slug":"polar-bears-and-sea-ice-fail-to-implode-in-2023-as-predicted-with-special-thanks-for-your-support","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=293140","title":{"rendered":"Polar bears and sea ice fail to implode in 2023 as predicted, with special thanks for your support"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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

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

As this year draws to a close, it is worth noting that over the last 12 months \u2014 and contrary to predictions and\u00a0headlines<\/a>, including claims about \u201cthe warmest year ever<\/a>\u201d \u2014 polar bears have not been reported\u00a0dying, starving, or eating each other<\/a>\u00a0in large numbers, or\u00a0relentlessly attacking people<\/a>. On top of that, summer sea ice coverage in the Arctic has\u00a0stalled for the last 17 years<\/a>, not melted out in a death spiral of rotten ice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Except for the lying<\/a> and obfuscation<\/a> that most of us have come to expect, I\u2019ve mostly been left to reiterate that polar bears are not \u201ccanaries in the coal mine\u201d indicators of climate change<\/a> and to point out that Arctic sea ice extent and polar bear survival are not <\/em>inextricably tied. For example, in some specific areas of interest, like Western Hudson Ba<\/a>y, there has not been a consistent decline in sea ice over the last few decades and bears are not attacking people<\/a> at increased rates because they are desperately hungry. In other areas, like the Svalbard area of the western Barents Sea, sea ice has declined dramatically in recent years yet polar bears have not been attacking people more than usual<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contradictions and failed predictions abound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

All in all, a rather boring year for the anticipated implosion of polar bear health and survival<\/a>, despite my constant tracking of publicly-available information. That said, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all again for your continued support, and especially those who have donated hard-earned cash over the last few months: your support makes it possible for me to continue my work keeping polar bear science honest. Together, we have made a difference and I know it\u2019s worth the fight. Because if we let evidence-based science die without challenge, we lose our ability to make sense of the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All the best for 2024 to you all.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arctic ecology 2023<\/strong> update<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

From this month\u2019s\u00a0NOAA Arctic Report Card<\/a>\u00a0for 2023\u00a0on sea ice<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Also according to\u00a0NOAA researchers<\/a>,\u00a0primary productivity<\/a>\u00a0in 2023 continued to be higher than 2003 across the Arctic, with increased values especially in the Barents Sea and Hudson Bay which ultimately benefits polar bears with more seals to eat:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

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

As this year draws to a close, it is worth noting that over the last 12 months \u2014 and contrary to predictions and\u00a0headlines, including claims about \u201cthe warmest year ever\u201d \u2014 polar bears have not been reported\u00a0dying, starving, or eating each other\u00a0in large numbers, or\u00a0relentlessly attacking people. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":293148,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"As this year draws to a close, it is worth noting that over the last 12 months \u2014 and contrary to predictions and\u00a0headlines, including claims about \u201cthe warmest year ever\u201d \u2014 polar bears have not been reported\u00a0dying, starving, or eating each other\u00a0in large ","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":[691819302,691818251,691818895,691825819],"class_list":{"0":"post-293140","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-barents-sea","9":"tag-polar-bears","10":"tag-sea-ice","11":"tag-the-warmest-year-ever","13":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/0984835.jpg?fit=2000%2C1247&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1eg4","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":208451,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=208451","url_meta":{"origin":293140,"position":0},"title":"Arctic sea ice is constantly changing which means polar bears must be flexible in their requirements","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"14\/07\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"In honour of upcoming\u00a0\u201aArctic Sea Ice Day\u2018\u00a0(15 July), I revisit my 2015 essay on sea ice stability and polar bears, called\u00a0The Arctic Fallacy. It challenges the flawed and out-dated ecological concept that under natural conditions, sea ice provides a stable and predictable habitat for polar bears, walrus and seals. The\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/0chukchi-sea-polar-bear-arctic_early-august-2018_a-khan-nsidc.jpg?fit=1200%2C951&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/0chukchi-sea-polar-bear-arctic_early-august-2018_a-khan-nsidc.jpg?fit=1200%2C951&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/0chukchi-sea-polar-bear-arctic_early-august-2018_a-khan-nsidc.jpg?fit=1200%2C951&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/0chukchi-sea-polar-bear-arctic_early-august-2018_a-khan-nsidc.jpg?fit=1200%2C951&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/0chukchi-sea-polar-bear-arctic_early-august-2018_a-khan-nsidc.jpg?fit=1200%2C951&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":288203,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=288203","url_meta":{"origin":293140,"position":1},"title":"Polar bear sea ice habitat update at 15 November & problem bears in Western Hudson Bay","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"20\/11\/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":253804,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=253804","url_meta":{"origin":293140,"position":2},"title":"\u2018Less ice means more conflicts with polar bears\u2019 narrative not supported by scientific evidence","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"20\/04\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"This overall reduction in kills, despite greatly reduced sea ice habitat availability and more polar bears spending more time on land, may reflect success of the Svalbard Environmental Act of 2001.\u201d","rel":"","context":"In \"conflicts\"","block_context":{"text":"conflicts","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=conflicts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/0-olar-bear-eating.jpeg?fit=1200%2C750&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/0-olar-bear-eating.jpeg?fit=1200%2C750&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/0-olar-bear-eating.jpeg?fit=1200%2C750&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/0-olar-bear-eating.jpeg?fit=1200%2C750&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/0-olar-bear-eating.jpeg?fit=1200%2C750&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":284598,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=284598","url_meta":{"origin":293140,"position":3},"title":"Polar Bear Shock: \u2018Vanishing\u2019 Animals Not Killed by Climate Change But Have Just Migrated, Says Scientist","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"22\/10\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Polar bears is no longer a symbol of climate change. 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From The Daily Sceptic BY\u00a0CHRIS MORRISON Last December, the\u00a0Guardian\u00a0ran a story claiming that polar bears were \u201cvanishing\u201d from Churchill, the polar bear capital of the world, using\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Arctic\"","block_context":{"text":"Arctic","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=arctic"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image-621.png?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image-621.png?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image-621.png?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image-621.png?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":334659,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=334659","url_meta":{"origin":293140,"position":4},"title":"Arctic sea ice at the summer solstice: more polar bear habitat than 2022 after hottest year on record","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"26\/06\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"We are just into the 2024 sea ice melt season in the Arctic with no signs of any big, dramatic changes despite claims that 2023 was the warmest year on record (since 1850). There is still abundant sea ice habitat for polar bears ahead of the summer months (July-September) when\u2026","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\/2024\/06\/0wild-polar-bear-mother-and-cub-on-the-pack-ice-picture-id1181703271.jpg?fit=1200%2C717&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/0wild-polar-bear-mother-and-cub-on-the-pack-ice-picture-id1181703271.jpg?fit=1200%2C717&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/0wild-polar-bear-mother-and-cub-on-the-pack-ice-picture-id1181703271.jpg?fit=1200%2C717&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/0wild-polar-bear-mother-and-cub-on-the-pack-ice-picture-id1181703271.jpg?fit=1200%2C717&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/0wild-polar-bear-mother-and-cub-on-the-pack-ice-picture-id1181703271.jpg?fit=1200%2C717&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":417814,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=417814","url_meta":{"origin":293140,"position":5},"title":"Sea ice conditions continued to favour Arctic marine life in\u00a02025","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"19\/12\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Increased primary productivity\u00a0in the Arctic generated by reduced summer sea ice has continued into 2025, according to NOAA\u2019s annual\u00a0Arctic Report Card\u00a0published yesterday, which means Arctic seals and whales, walrus, and polar bears will continue to flourish.","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\/00Screenshot-2025-12-19-144656.png?fit=1200%2C877&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/00Screenshot-2025-12-19-144656.png?fit=1200%2C877&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/00Screenshot-2025-12-19-144656.png?fit=1200%2C877&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/00Screenshot-2025-12-19-144656.png?fit=1200%2C877&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/00Screenshot-2025-12-19-144656.png?fit=1200%2C877&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293140","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=293140"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293140\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":293150,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293140\/revisions\/293150"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/293148"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=293140"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=293140"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=293140"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}