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July 2016 had warm conditions and frequent melting in northern Greenland, similar to 2015 but not as extreme. However, last winter's low snowfall in the south meant that July's near-normal melting and slightly cool weather still produced above average melt water runoff, resulting in mass loss from the ice sheet.

NSIDC scientist Ted Scambos flew with a team of scientists to Antarctica in February 2016 hoping to witness the remnant of the Larsen B ice shelf, known Scar Inlet. Though the ice survived another year, the team saw something unexpected, and more intriguing, if a bit less dramatic.

Greenland’s 2016 melt season started fast. It maintained a brisk pace with three extreme spikes in areas of melt through June 19. On June 9, Nuuk, the capital, reached the warmest temperature ever recorded for the month of June anywhere on the island, 24 degrees Celsius (75 degrees Fahrenheit).

For six days in early April, unusual weather patterns produced an early season melt event on the Greenland Ice Sheet, covering up to 10 percent of its surface area. Such an event is unusual but not unprecedented