Jason Unrau
Northern News Services

Inuvik (Aug 05/05) - The abundance of rain and lack of sunshine has got many in town talking about this summer as the worst in recent memory.

"This has been the coldest July on record," said Environment Canada meteorologist Yvonne Bilan-Wallace. "If Inuvik doesn't get summer soon you are out of luck and looking at the forecast it's not promising."

Not the words one wants to hear in a place whose summer is already short enough as it is.

The average high for July was only 15 degrees Celsius compared to a historical average of 17.3 degrees Celsius. According to Bilan-Wallace it is the coldest July since records started being kept in 1957.

"Unless you had July 12 off, maybe you missed summer," joked the meteorologist as that day's 24 degrees Celsius high was the warmest temperature of the month.

As well, the region experienced a record 22 days with some precipitation while the monthly average for July is 10.

Total rainfall for the month was 49 mm, 17 mm above average. Of that, 19mm of rain came down over the long weekend, turning the slo-pitch diamond into a mudbowl for much of the Midnight Sun Slo-Pitch tournament and forcing most of the circumpolar games events indoors.

While Bilan-Wallace is reluctant to blame this summer's weather trends to global warming, the National Snow and Ice Data Centre in the United States has reported that for the month of June, Arctic sea ice has shrunk to a record low.

In addition to causing costal erosion and changes in wildlife behaviour, less sea ice means more moisture in the air and an increase in rain.

According to satellite imagery, scientists have determined that the greatest ice cap retreats have occurred north of Alaska and north of eastern Siberia.