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MITTIMATALIK/POND INLET - Hunters and travellers on the sea ice near Pond Inlet were being called in for safety reasons about two weeks earlier than usual this year.

Colin Saunders, a long-time resident of Pond Inlet, said this is one of the earliest ice break-ups he can remember. Elders in the community he's talked to agree that the ice has melted faster than usual.

Other effects were a shorter spring camping season because residents were unable to travel across the ice, but it has also resulted in an earlier boating season, said Saunders, an economic development officer with the hamlet.

Saunders said, based on years past, sea ice would still be present in the inlet in July, although it would be too thin to Ski-Doo across. But this year, with the exception of a few icebergs, the area is open water.

"This is definitely unusual because it is about a month ahead of schedule," said Gaetan Langois, superintendent of ice and marine satellite analysis with the Canadian Ice Service in Ottawa. "It is clearing up very quickly, so it is wise to get people off of there."

Normally this time of year, Langois said, there's about 80 per cent ice cover on the water around Bylot Island, including Pond Inlet. But this year, based on satellite images, he's noticing that the area is "pretty much ice-free."

"Normally you would expect to see quite a bit of ice around Pond Inlet," he said.

Langois said one reason why the ice has cleared up faster is that it froze later than usual in the fall. In previous years, the ice freezes over in October but this year by November, even though there was ice, it was fairly thin compared to other years. Regardless, the ice still reached its usual thickness of about 120 centimetres, he said.

Another reason for the earlier ice melt is the warmer air temperature this summer in Pond Inlet. Langois estimates that over the past month or so, it has been on average five or six degrees Celsius warmer than usual, with temperatures as high as 14 C.

He added that in areas west of Pond Inlet, such as Lancaster Sound, there are still signs of ice, but the ice is fairly thin and moving east with the water currents.

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