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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.

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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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This NASA blue marble image shows Arctic sea ice extent on March 14, 2024, when sea ice reached its maximum extent for the year. Sea ice extent for March 14 averaged 15.01 million square kilometers (5.80 million square miles), the fourteenth lowest in the satellite record.

Arctic sea ice reaches maximum extent for 2024

News Release

Arctic sea ice has likely reached its maximum extent for the year, at 15.01 million square kilometers (5.80 million square miles) on March 14, according to scientists at the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) at the University of Colorado Boulder.

This plot shows the departure from average air temperature in the Antarctic at the 925 hPa level, in degrees Celsius, for December 2023 through February 2024. Yellows and reds indicate above average temperatures; blues and purples indicate below average temperatures.

Leaping toward spring

Analysis - Sea Ice Today

During February, Arctic sea ice extent increased along the lower 10 percent interdecile value, with the average monthly extent tied for fifteenth lowest in the satellite record.

Tokcha Khudi stands among a reindeer herd

The story behind the StoryMap: A family’s tale of a rain-on-snow event

Feature Story

The Arctic Rain on Snow Study (AROSS) project, led by the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), funded an award-winning StoryMap called "When Rains Fell in Winter," which tells the story of a Nenets reindeer herder named Tokcha Khudi and how a catastrophic rain-on-snow event impacted his annual migration on the Yamal Peninsula in 2013.

This graph shows Antarctic annual sea ice minimum extent, depicted as black diamonds, from 1979 to 2024, based on a 5-day running average of daily extent. The linear trend line is in blue with a 1.7 percent per decade downward trend, which is not statistically significant. A five-year running average is shown in red.

Antarctic sea ice extent hits a third low in a row

Analysis - Sea Ice Today

On February 20, Antarctic sea ice likely reached its minimum extent of 1.99 million square kilometers (768,000 square miles), tying for second lowest extent in the 1979 to 2024 satellite record.

NASA Antarctica blue marble image 2.20.24

Antarctic sea ice extent ties for second lowest in satellite record

News Release

Antarctic sea ice has likely reached its minimum extent for the year, at 1.99 million square kilometers (768,000 square miles) on February 20, 2024, according to scientists at NSIDC.

Back in the freezer

Analysis - Ice Sheets Today

Ice sheet surface melt on the Antarctic Peninsula abruptly dropped in mid-January and remained low through February 15. By contrast, melt day totals for the season were above average for the northern Larsen C and George VI Ice Shelves.

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