Sea ice cover in the Bellingshausen Sea, Antarctica

On 14 June 2026, a wildfire was reported close to the Kangerluarsuk Ungalleq fjord, north-east of Sisimiut, Greenland’s second-largest city. The fire broke out in a largely ice-covered landscape of rocky terrain and sparse vegetation.

World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, observed on 17 June, highlights the importance of monitoring heat- and water-related stress on land, ecosystems, and societies.

On 8 June 2026, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck the island of Mindanao in the southern Philippines. The earthquake uplifted sections of the island’s southern coastline, raising the seabed by up to 2 metres, and exposing coral reefs and other previously submerged areas, and affecting the local marine environment.

Between 10 and 11 June 2026, a major winter storm brought significant snowfall to high-altitude sections of the Andes along the Argentina–Chile border, marking one of the first major snow events of the austral winter season. The severe weather created hazardous travel conditions and may have led to temporary restrictions or closures.

Signy and Moe Islands form part of the South Orkney Islands, a remote, heavily glaciated archipelago in the Southern Ocean, situated approximately 600 kilometers northeast of the Antarctic Peninsula. Despite the extreme cold, the islands support moss beds, lichen, and algae.