Arctic Watch

Facts About the Arctic

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Facts About the Arctic in October 2022

The 2022/23 freezing season has begun, so to begin with here are Arctic sea ice area and extent during its early stages: Both metrics are currently tracking 2021 quite closely. Here too is an AMSR2 animation of the transition from…

Transition time

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. Antarctic sea ice has hit its minimum extent for the year, setting a new…

Antarctic sea ice settles on record low extent, again

On February 21, Antarctic sea ice likely reached its annual minimum extent of 1.79 million square kilometers (691,000 square miles). This the lowest sea ice extent in the 1979 to 2023 sea ice record, setting a record low for the…

Antarctic sea ice extent sets a new record low

Antarctic sea ice extent appears to have broken the record low set last year. With a couple more weeks likely left in the melt season, the extent is expected to drop further before reaching its annual minimum. Much of the…

Analysis

Arctic sea ice low, Antarctic lower

Arctic sea ice extent rose at a slower than average rate through January, and continued to be below the lower interdecile range. By the end of the month, sea ice reached the second lowest extent in the satellite record. Meanwhile, Antarctic…

December lows

Daily extent of Arctic sea ice for December 2022 remained well below average for the entire month; at the end of the month, extent stood at fourth lowest in the satellite record. The average extent for the month ended up as seventh…

Lingering open water areas

November’s rate of sea ice growth in the Arctic was near average. Several of the peripheral seas have open water areas late into the autumn season. Warm air temperatures persist in the northern North Atlantic and northwestern Europe. In Antarctica,…

Iced

As October drew to a close, freezing progressed rapidly in the Laptev Sea. In the Antarctic, where spring is slowly unfolding, overall ice extent is low, with patterns suggesting a strong persistent low atmospheric pressure in the Amundsen Sea. Overview…

Ain’t no sunshine when she’s gone

After reaching the minimum on September 18, Arctic sea ice extent has been steadily increasing. With the passage of the equinox, the sun has set at the North Pole. September average ice extent ended up tying with 2010 for eleventh…

Arctic sea ice minimum ties for tenth lowest

On September 18, Arctic sea ice likely reached its annual minimum extent of 4.67 million square kilometers (1.80 million square miles). The 2022 minimum is tied for tenth lowest in the nearly 44-year satellite record, with 2018 and 2017. The last 16 years,…