Conducted by an international team of 300 scientists, the study projects larger changes in the near future. Increasing concentrations of Green Houses Gases (GHG) from human activities are projected to contribute to additional warming of 3-9 degrees over the next 100 years. Its global impact, such as sea-level increase, will be staggering, says the report.

The Arctic region, barometer on global climate change, is considered an early warning system on environmental warming worldwide. "What happens there is of concern for everyone because Arctic warming and its consequences have global implications."

The ACIA predicts that Arctic vegetation zones and animal species will be affected. Retreating sea ice will reduce the habitat for polar bears, wolves, ice-inhabiting seals and marine birds and even threaten some species with extinction. Such changes will also impact on many Arctic indigenous communities who depend on such animals, not only for food, but also as the basis for cultural and social identity, according to the report.

And beyond the regions, as the Arctic glaciers melt, it will be the developing countries, with limited means to adapt to environmental changes, that will suffer most.