Antarctica: The US data center has reportedly suggested that the sea ice around Antarctica has likely reached the lowest annual maximum amount of sea ice around the continent.
The US National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) stated that Antarctic sea ice reached its maximum size in September this year, measuring 16.96 million square kilometers, as the southern hemisphere transitioned into spring.
The ice pack usually reaches its biggest size in the colder winter months, so it’s likely that the measurement will be this year’s maximum.
“This is the lowest sea ice maximum in the 1979–2023 sea ice record by a wide margin,” stated the NSIDC, a government-supported program at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
At its peak this year, the sea ice was 1.03 million square kilometers smaller than the previous record, approximately equivalent to the combined size of Texas and California.
“It’s a record-smashing sea ice low in the Antarctic,” stated NSIDC scientist Mr. Walt Meier. The scientist added that the growth in sea ice appeared “low around nearly the whole continent as opposed to any one region.”
In February 2023, during the peak of the southern hemisphere’s summer, the Antarctic sea ice pack hit a record-low minimum extent of 1.79 million square kilometers, as reported by the NSIDC.
Despite the arrival of winter, the ice pack showed an exceptionally slow growth rate.
As summer winds down in the northern hemisphere, the NSIDC reported that Arctic sea ice hit a low of 4.23 million square kilometers. This marks the sixth-lowest minimum in the 45-year record.
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