Al traveled to Utqiaġvik, Alaska, the northernmost city in the nation, to learn about scientists tracking climate change.

By Eun Kyung Kim

What happens in the Arctic doesn’t stay in the Arctic. And scientists studying global warming are trying to learn why.

Al Roker headed to Utqiaġvik, Alaska, considered ground zero for climate change, to learn from the scientists gathering critical information there that could help save the Earth.

Formerly known as Barrow, the community sits at the farthest north tip of the country. When Al arrived on Saturday, March 30, Utqiaġvik hit a record high of 33, which was 36 degrees above average. To put it into perspective, that would be like New York City hitting 91 or Miami reaching 117 on the same spring day.

The unprecedented rise of temperatures has raised a red flag for scientists studying climate change, so Al headed out onto the ice to see firsthand the technology being used to gather data. First up was a weather station that measures air pressure and temperature, as well as wind and sea level pressure, the fundamental parameters needed to forecast weather and study climate change.

“What we are seeing now is unprecedented. Changes that are happening are happening in just 30, 50 years,” Ignatius Rigor, a scientist from the University of Washington, said.