Luckily in Svalbard — a remote Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean that's as close to the North Pole as most people ... Reindeer graze on snow and a giant Christmas tree is lit up all ...

Today is an extremely unusual December day at the North Pole ... are open ocean this year after a severe sea ice melt season and record-slow winter freeze-up. SEE ALSO: North Pole to warm to ...

(Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center/ NASA Earth Observatory ... open water and evidence of melt ponds atop sea ice in the heart of the Arctic Ocean region. The North Pole is marked by an X.