Special Report: Warming waters north of Japan are triggering a dangerous chain reaction that is threatening an enormous area of the Pacific

Less ice and fewer salmon in northern Japan are being driven by rapid warming in the Sea of Okhotsk, wedged between Siberia and Japan's northernmost island of Hokkaido. The sea has warmed in some northern regions by as much as 3 degrees Celsius (5.4 degrees Fahrenheit) since preindustrial times, making it one of the fastest warming spots in the world, according to a Washington Post analysis of data from Berkeley Earth. The rising temperatures are weakening the Earth's single most dynamic sea ice factory, in the northwestern Sea of Okhotsk. The intensity of ice generation here exceeds any location in the Arctic ocean or even Antarctica, and its decline will reverberate far beyond the immediate region as climate dominoes begin to fall.

Democracy Dies in Darkness     Special Report Nov 12, 12:08 PM     Warming waters north of Japan are triggering a dangerous chain reaction that is threatening an enormous area of the Pacific Less ice and fewer salmon in northern Japan are being driven by rapid warming in the Sea of Okhotsk, wedged between Siberia and Japan's northernmost island of Hokkaido. The sea has warmed in some northern regions by as much as 3 degrees Celsius (5.4 degrees Fahrenheit) since preindustrial times, making it one of the fastest warming spots in the world, according to a Washington Post analysis of data from Berkeley Earth. The rising temperatures are weakening the Earth's single most dynamic sea ice factory, in the northwestern Sea of Okhotsk. The intensity of ice generation here exceeds any location in the Arctic ocean or even Antarctica, and its decline will reverberate far beyond the immediate region as climate dominoes begin to fall. Read more » Advertisement You received this email because you signed up for news alerts from The Washington Post. Manage my newsletters and alerts | Unsubscribe Privacy Policy | Help ©2019 The Washington Post, 1301 K St NW, Washington DC 20071