Institute For The Future

But the good news is we'll save fuel sailing from Asia to Europe

The Northwest Passage will soon be open, and doubtless more intrepid captains sailing between Asia and Europe will be using it. The National Snow and Ice Data Center reports that

 

Of particular note is imminent opening of the fabled Northwest Passage through the channels of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. This shortcut between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans was first navigated by Roald Amundsen in the early 1900s. It took his group over two years of arduous and dangerous navigation through narrow lanes of open water amongst thick, compact ice. Analysts at the Canadian Ice Service and the U.S. National Ice Center confirm that the passage is almost completely clear and that the region is more open than it has ever been since the advent of routine monitoring in 1972. The Northwest Passage traces from Baffin Bay in the South toward M'Clure Strait.

 

[from NSIDC; large version here]

I haven't seen an estimate yet of how long it'll be before it's possible to sail along the northern coast of Russia.

[via The Guardian]