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.

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.

Arctic sea ice growth was slower than average through most of the month, but with extent slightly declining towards the end of the month.

The end of 2023 had above average sea ice growth, bringing the daily extent within the interdecile range, the range spanning 90 percent of past sea ice extents for the date.

While autumn sea ice growth is in full swing, brief pauses are not unusual.

As the long Arctic winter sets in, sea ice extent has increased at a faster than average pace. By the end of October, the ice cover had reached the Siberian coast, while open water persisted along the coasts of the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas.

A few days after the annual Arctic sea ice minimum extent was reached on September 19, the sun set at the North Pole, aiding sea ice growth.

On September 10, Antarctic sea ice likely reached its annual maximum extent of 16.96 million square kilometers (6.55 million square miles). This is the lowest sea ice maximum in the 1979 to 2023 sea ice record by a wide margin.

On September 19, Arctic sea ice likely reached its annual minimum extent of 4.23 million square kilometers (1.63 million square miles). The 2023 minimum is sixth lowest in the nearly 45-year satellite record.

Both Arctic and Antarctic sea ice appear to be heading toward their respective seasonal limits, reaching the lowest extent at the end of summer in the north, and the highest extent as winter ends in the south.

While the first half of August saw a rapid pace of Arctic sea ice loss, the pace slowed during the latter half of the month as mostly cooler conditions set in.

After declining at a near-average pace for much of the summer, Arctic sea ice loss accelerated during early August.

While large parts of the world saw record breaking heat in July, and Antarctic sea ice extent remained at record daily lows as assessed over the satellite record, Arctic sea ice extent for July was only the twelfth lowest in the satellite record.

Arctic sea ice continues to decline at a near-average pace, with ice extent twelfth lowest in the satellite record at this time.

The longest day of summer has come and gone, and summer melt is in full swing, with the pace of ice loss overall about average for this time of year. Arctic sea ice extent for June was not exceptionally low compared to other recent years.

The seasonal decline in Arctic sea ice extent was moderate through much of May before picking up pace over the last few days of the month.

The rate of sea ice loss for April 2023 was slow, owing to cool conditions across the ice-covered Arctic Ocean and below-average to near-average temperatures near the ice edge.

Sunlight has returned to the highest latitudes in the Arctic, while in the Antarctic autumn is settling in.

Arctic sea ice has likely reached its maximum extent for the year, at 14.62 million square kilometers (5.64 million square miles) on March 6.

Throughout February, Arctic sea ice extent tracked between second and fourth lowest in the satellite record while Antarctic sea ice extent tracked at record low extents.