News & Stories
Across the globe, snow and ice play a vital role in regulating Earth’s climate and providing freshwater resources to people, plants, and animals.
As Earth’s frozen regions change rapidly, NSIDC is committed to growing its research and open access data to better understand these changes. Read about NSIDC research and its contribution to science and policy making. Check out spotlights on how to use NSIDC data, tools, and resources. Learn about how we steward data and collaborate with scientists and organizations across the world to understand how the frozen parts of Earth affect the rest of the planet and impact society.
News and stories
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While the Northeast Passage is never guaranteed to be ice free, a 2023 study identified the time of year when ships are the likeliest to succeed in negotiating the route: mid-September.
Ice Sheet Analysis
On April 25, 2024, a moderately strong melt event kicked things off early on the Greenland Ice Sheet. Since then, however, the melt season has been fairly typical. Snowfall in early June blanketed exposed ice, which will slow the onset of more intense melting and run off for the next few weeks. Overall, melting in Greenland has remained well above the 1980s and 1990s levels since 2013, but the 2012 season remains a distinct record.
Snow Analysis
Snow-covered area in May 2024 across the western United States was 56 percent above average (Table 1), at 156,000 square kilometers (60,000 square miles) of snow cover, ranking third highest in the 24-year satellite record. May snowfall brightened the snow cover in some areas while others darkened from lack of snowfall.
Snow Analysis
Snow-covered area was 203 percent of average for April, ranking second highest in the 24-year satellite record. Despite a snowy April, snow cover days were below average because of a widespread slow start to the snow season. States in the north reported below-average snow water equivalent, while the opposite was true for states in the south.
Ice Sheet Analysis
In late February and early March, two record melt events for that time of year occurred on the Antarctic Peninsula. Overall, however, the 2023 to 2024 melt season was slightly below the 45-year average because of low melt regions outside of the Antarctic Peninsula.
Spotlight
The Silalirijiit Project was an innovative effort to engage community members and stakeholders to better monitor and understand the weather of Baffin Island’s Clyde River region. It combined state-of-the-art weather-monitoring technology with local Inuit knowledge.