Report: Arctic melt worse last five years 

WASHINGTON — Federal officials say the Arctic region has changed dramatically in the past five years — for the worse.

It’s melting at a near record pace, and it’s darkening and absorbing too much of the sun’s heat. 

A new report card from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration rates the polar region with blazing red stop lights on three of five categories and yellow cautions for the other two. Overall, these are not good grades, but it doesn’t mean the Arctic is doomed and it still will freeze in the winter, said report co-editor Jackie Richter-Menge.