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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.

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Figure 1. The top left map shows the total melt days for the Antarctic Ice Sheet from November 1, 2024, to January 20, 2025 with a close-up map of the Antarctic Peninsula to its right. The bottom left and center maps show the total melt days as a difference from average relative to the 1991 to 2020 reference period. The top right graph shows daily melt extent as a percentage of the ice sheet for the 2024 melt season up to January 20, 2025, with the average values and ranges for the same reference period. Th
Analysis - Ice Sheets Today
Surface melting for the Antarctic ice sheet appears to have set a record for the 46-year satellite observation period on January 2, 2025. All areas of the Antarctic coast that generally see significant summertime melting continue to accumulate melt days at a faster-than-average pace, except along the northern West Antarctic ice shelves, which are now near-average.
Larsen Ice Shelf
Analysis - Ice Sheets Today
Widespread coastal melting occurred in Antarctica through the second half of December and is continuing in the first few days of the new year in several areas. Nearly every region with routine surface snowmelt has had more days of melt than is typical for this time of year.
Figure 1a. Arctic sea ice extent for December 2024 was 11.42 million square kilometers (4.41 million square miles). The magenta line shows the 1981 to 2010 average extent for that month. Sea Ice Index data. About the data
Analysis - Sea Ice Today
Air temperatures in December 2024 were above average over the entire Arctic Ocean, continuing the pattern set in November. Average Arctic sea ice extent for December was the lowest in the satellite record, in considerable part due to delayed ice growth in Hudson Bay and low extent in the northern Barents Sea. Antarctic sea ice has declined at a slower-than-normal pace since mid-November, erasing the record and near-record low extents of October and November and finishing the year very close to the 1981 to 2010 average.