A blast of Arctic air has plunged much of the United States into a bitter cold snap. About 202 million people — around 60 percent of the population of the contiguous United States — live in the areas expected to see freezing temperatures over the next week.

Follow that frigid air north to the Arctic, and you find a region undergoing sweeping changes that could have global consequences. (I also wrote about the worrying state of the Arcticlast year.)

Temperatures in the Arctic are warming far faster than the rest of the planet. Sea ice is rapidly declining, opening up new shipping routes. And record temperatures and thawing permafrost are turning Arctic rivers orange with toxic heavy metals, according to a new report from federal scientists.

But this year, there are also near-term policy upheavals that are reshaping the Arctic.

The Trump administration is working to commercialize Alaska, opening up previously protected waters to oil and gas drilling, and allowing preparations for a road that would reach a proposed copper and zinc mine. The White House is also prioritizing national security in the region, expanding military operations and vying for influence in Greenland.

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