Antarctic sea ice minimum hits a near-record low, again

On March 1, Antarctic sea ice likely reached its minimum extent of 1.98 million square kilometers (764,000 square miles), tying for second lowest extent with 2022 and 2024 in the 47-year satellite record. This is the fourth consecutive year that Antarctic sea ice has reached a minimum below 2.0 million square kilometers (772,000 square miles).

Please note that this is a preliminary announcement. Changing winds or late-season melt could still reduce the Antarctic ice extent. NSIDC scientists will release a full analysis of the Antarctic and Arctic March conditions in early April.

Overview of conditions

On March 1, 2025, Antarctic sea ice reached an annual minimum extent of 1.98 million square kilometers (764,000 square miles), tying for second lowest minimum with 2022 and 2024 in the 47-year satellite record. This year’s minimum is 860,000 square kilometers (332,000 square miles) below the 1981 to 2010 average Antarctic minimum extent of 2.84 million square kilometers (1.10 million square miles). It is also 190,000 square kilometers (73,000 square miles) above the previous record low set on February 21, 2023. 

Nearly all of the remaining high-concentration sea ice is in the Weddell Sea. Sea ice is also present in the Amundsen and Ross Seas, but in low concentration. Isolated patches persist along the coasts of Enderby Land and Wilkes Land.

The Antarctic minimum extent was reached five days later than the 1981 to 2010 median date of February 24, and is one of the latest dates on record to reach the Antarctic minimum. The interquartile range for the date of the Antarctic minimum is February 20 to February 26.

Conditions in context

This year marks the fourth consecutive minimum Antarctic sea ice extent below 2.0 million square kilometers (772,000 square miles) (Figure 2a). The four minimums set in 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 are the four lowest in the 47-year record. Five of the lowest Antarctic sea ice extents have occurred since 2017 (see table below). Antarctic sea ice has been historically variable, wavering between highs and lows from year to year. The recent series of low years, however, may beg the question if this decline is significant. The period since 2017 is still too short to determine a clear trend and magnitude is still small relative to the year-to-year variations in the ice cover. Note that 2013 to 2015, Antarctic sea ice reached near record high minimum extents.

Overall, the downward trend in the annual Antarctic sea ice minimum extent computed over the complete satellite record is 6,500 square kilometers (2,500 square miles) per year, or 2.3 percent per decade relative to the 1981 to 2010 average. This trend is not statistically significant (Figure 2b). This is in stark contrast to the Arctic sea ice minimum, which is larger in magnitude and has strong statistical significance.

Five lowest minimum Antarctic sea ice extents (satellite record, 1979 to present)

Values within 40,000 square kilometers (15,000 square miles) are considered tied.