Antarctica and the Southern Ocean: insights from the 2022 IPCC WGII report

Over time, greenhouse gas emissions have caused observable changes in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean, triggering a warmer climate, more extreme weather and sea-level rise. These changes affect planetary, and Antarctic and Southern Ocean systems.

Antarctic and Southern Ocean ecosystems and the human communities that depend on Antarctica are increasingly affected, including the 1.3 billion people living in low lying regions around the world.

In Australia, our fisheries, natural systems and human communities are encountering extreme weather and climate trends some of which are linked to the changes emerging in the Antarctic.

Achieving climate resilience is currently a challenge in the Antarctic Treaty System including management of protected areas. Rapid and ambitious actions in the current decade will influence whether these changes can be avoided or will become irreversible for centuries to millennia.