At a Glance

Greenland's northernmost weather station reported bizarre warmth in recent days as a heat wave grips the Arctic.The recent wave of warm weather has brought temperatures almost 40 degrees above average.That means some areas are spending several days above freezing when they should be below zero.

Arctic temperatures remain bizarrely high in what has been a prolonged blast of relative warmth, which has been confirmed by Greenland's northernmost weather station.

Temperatures have spiked to more than 40 degrees warmer than average during the most recent "heat wave," which halted sea ice growth , according to Earther. The Danish Meteorological Service said temperatures on the evening of Feb. 18 warmed 39 degrees in four hours at the Greenlandweather station and then remained warmer than freezing through Feb. 20, the report added.

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Sea ice had already been trending far below the 1981-2010 median amount, but now, it has dipped to record low levels at times in 2018. It's far from a slight tick below average – the Arctic would need to have added to get back to normal.

Parts of Alaska's North Slope are also trending 40 degrees or more above average as that region of the state bakes in unusual warmth.According to Inside Climate News, the Bering Sea just in eight days.

This alarming trend is only expected to get worse because the Arctic is warming at a faster rate than most of the world. It's a vicious cycle that allows more ice to melt, which in turn allows temperatures to climb even faster.

These way-above-average readings come on the heels of a December that was the warmest December on record for the Arctic, and January was about 9 degrees warmer than average,University of California, Irvine PhD candidate Zack Labe told Earther.

This is the warmest the Arctic has been in upwards of 1,450 years, scientists who study the region's history have concluded.