Tag - arctic

 
 

ARCTIC

The CCGS Naalak Nappaaluk, an oceanographic science vessel and summer-rated icebreaker, under construction at Seaspan Shipyards
WORLD
Sep 17, 2025
Nations aiming for Arctic power can’t get enough of these ships
Thawing of the top of the world from climate change has stirred a global competition to forge new, previously unnavigable shipping routes.
Cars drive along a road during a snowstorm in the Arctic city of Norilsk, Russia, on March 19.
WORLD / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Sep 16, 2025
Ticket to the Arctic: Inside Russia's system of convict labor
Russia says forced labor, introduced in 2011, is a humane form of punishment. Convicts tell a much different story.
Members of the Danish armed forces perform a military drill on a Danish navy vessel after being lowered from a helicopter, as Danish and French armed forces perform military drills off the coast of Nuuk, Greenland, on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 16, 2025
Nordic ministers attend Greenland war games without U.S.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly said the United States needs the strategically located, resource-rich island for security reasons, sparking diplomatic tensions with Denmark.
Albin Enbacke is among the train drivers responsible for ferrying iron ore from the Kiruna mine.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 3, 2025
Sweden’s arctic railway prepares for a more militarized future
Should Finland’s border with Russia ever become an active front, the track would be one of the best ways for NATO to transport vehicles and supplies.
Workers build a scaffolding platform during construction at the Yamal LNG plant, operated by Novatek, in Sabetta, Russia, in August 2018.
BUSINESS
Jun 29, 2025
Russia tries again to expand LNG exports upended by sanctions
Since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Russian gas pipeline exports to Europe have dwindled, and shipping more fuel via seaborne LNG tankers provides an attractive revenue stream.
Reindeer herder Ari Maununiemi feeds lichen to his reindeer at his home and farm outside Rovaniemi, Finland, on Feb. 26.
WORLD
May 26, 2025
Growing Arctic military presence worries Finland's reindeer herders
"Military activity has increased massively here since Finland joined NATO," one herder said.
French scientist Marie-Anne Blanchet examines bear cubs before taking tissue biopsies and blood samples from their sedated mother, in eastern Spitzbergen, in Norway's Svalbard archipelago, on April 6.
ENVIRONMENT
May 19, 2025
Polar bear biopsies shed light on Arctic pollutants
The team's findings may help explain how the bears' world is changing, and at an alarming rate.
A person walks along a snow covered road in Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories, Canada, on Feb. 28.
WORLD
Apr 14, 2025
'Hard on the body': Canadian troops train for Arctic defense
Canada is making a significant push to boost its military strength in the Arctic, which accounts for 40% of its territory.
Aerial view of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada, on Jan. 25, 2025. The area represents 40% of Canada's territory and 75% of its coastline.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 25, 2025
'All eyes on Arctic' as Canada boosts its northern force
Thawing ice has created a new strategic reality for Canada, as nations with Arctic borders like the United States and Russia intensify their focus on the region.
Norwegian soldiers and U.S. Marines work together during a military exercise in Finnmark, Norway, on March 10, 2024.
WORLD
Feb 3, 2025
NATO scrambles for drones that can survive the Arctic
Governments in the world's far north are seeking to overcome the challenge of flying drones in cold, icy weather as the region comes into the geopolitical spotlight.
A sunset in the Arctic Ocean observed from the Japanese oceanographic research ship Mirai on Sept. 24
JAPAN
Oct 1, 2024
Japanese ship Mirai ends this year's Arctic mission
The vessel left the city of Mutsu, Aomori Prefecture, in late August for the mission.
Sea ice in the Arctic Ocean observed from aboard the Mirai research vessel on Monday
JAPAN / Science & Health
Sep 17, 2024
Japan's arctic research vessel Mirai reaches sea ice area
Mirai has arrived at what is known as the ice edge, where countless pieces of ice stretching across the horizon bob with the waves.
The Japanese oceanographic research vessel Mirai is currently on a mission in the Arctic Ocean to study environmental changes in the area.
JAPAN
Sep 15, 2024
Japan moves to promote rule of law in Arctic
With the largest territory in the area, Russia is strengthening regional military activities while expanding cargo transportation and exploring resources.
The oceanographic research vessel Mirai passes through the Diomede Islands, located at the center of the Bering Strait, on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Sep 6, 2024
Japanese research vessel Mirai enters Arctic ocean
Mirai is on a month-long voyage to study environmental changes in the Arctic, which is believed to be warming faster than anywhere else on Earth.
Oceanographic research vessel Mirai is docked at the port of Sekinehama in Mutsu, Aomori Prefecture, on Monday before it embarked on an Arctic voyage later in the day.
JAPAN
Aug 26, 2024
Japan's Mirai research vessel embarks on Arctic journey
Mirai is tasked with ocean research and weather observations in the Arctic Ocean, in hopes of finding the cause and impact of rapid global warming in the area.
Scientists drive their snowmobiles cross the arctic during dawn near Ny-Alesund, Svalbard, Norway, on April 10, 2023.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 23, 2024
Pentagon to bolster response to China and Russia in Arctic
Measures are needed "to ensure the Arctic does not become a strategic blind spot,” the Defense Department said in its 2024 Arctic Strategy released Monday.
Relations between Russia and Western nations have been in the deep freeze since Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, but Norway has been keen to keep some limited cooperation alive through the Arctic Council.
WORLD / Politics
May 15, 2024
West and Russia manage limited cooperation in Arctic despite chill in ties
Norway has been keen to keep some limited cooperation between Russia and the West alive.
A screencap of a performance of Hiroto Nagai's “String Quartet No. 1 ‘Polar Energy Budget’” by the PRT Quartet
CULTURE / Music / OUR PLANET
May 7, 2024
How a Japanese scientist is turning the climate crisis into music
Hiroto Nagai has sonified polar climate data, resulting in a string quartet piece that he thinks can get people to care more about what the data expresses.
Russian President Vladimir Putin looks through a helicopter window during his flight to the Novatek-Murmansk's Offshore Superfacility Construction Center in the village of Belokamenka, in Russia's Murmansk region, last July.
BUSINESS / ANALYSIS
May 5, 2024
How Western sanctions are strangling Putin’s Arctic gas ambitions
The Novatek PJSC-led Arctic LNG 2 facility is a key part of Moscow’s plans to boost exports and replenish coffers. But it has remained virtually idled.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi during the signing of the Rasht-Astara railway agreement in May 2023.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 18, 2024
New 'sanctions-proof' transport routes put Russia at heart of global trade
Shipping and rail networks via Iran and an Arctic sea passage could strengthen Moscow’s pivot toward China and India and away from Europe.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’