Officials say one of the “most significant” airlifts in Alaska history is underway to evacuate hundreds of people from storm-devastated coastal towns.

Officials in Alaska are rushing to find housing for people from tiny coastal villages devastated by the remnants of Typhoon Halong.

Much of the Arctic is in a burst of freak December warming.

Residents on Alaska’s vast and sparsely populated western coast braced for what forecasters said could be one of the worst in recent history, accompanied by strong winds and high surf that could knock out power and cause flooding.

Alaska is burning this year in ways rarely or ever seen.

In the Chukchi Sea northwest of Alaska this month, which should be brimming with floes, its limits likely wont be tested. Sea ice is creeping toward the city from the east in the Beaufort Sea, but to find sea ice in the Chukchi, the Sikuliaq would have to head northwest for about 200 miles (322 kilometers). Sea ice is also a one of the most important physical elements of the Chukchi and Bering seas. Female walruses with young use sea ice as a resting platform and follow the ice edge south as it moves into the Bering Sea. Forecasting sea ice is notoriously difficult but Thoman, the ex-weather forecaster, said he expects a less than robust year for sea ice.

It is impacting the ability for Americans in the region to put food on the table right now," said University of Alaska climate specialist Rick Thoman. Birds and marine animals are showing up dead, he said, and sea temperatures are warm enough to support algal blooms, which can make the waters toxic to wildlife. This is a signal of global warmingThe warming is a sure signal of a warming planet and part of the trend of increasing global temperatures, Brettschneider said. "The sea temperatures and sea ice deficits have not happened before as a random event. That tends to mask a warming signal," Brettschneider said, referring to the long-term warming trend of the planet.