Record Low Sea Ice – By A Lot

Antarctica just finished its winter. That’s the time for sea ice to reach its maximum extent, naturally. This year’s maximum was the least on record. While many such climate records are seen as nuances, mild excursions from a norm, this year’s record is obvious and even more worrying than usual. This year’s maximum was about 17 million square kilometers, about 1 million square kilometers below the previous record. The trend seems to be accelerating since 2016. Less ice means less heat reflected back into space, hence more warming. Less ice also means greater exposure of coastal ice to waves and warmer water decreasing subsequent years’ baseline sea ice. Warming and shifting of global currents may also be affecting the Antarctic.