According to the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), Arctic sea ice likely reached its lowest maximum extent in the satellite record on February 25, 2015. Unless late season ice growth takes place, the February 2015 maximum Arctic sea ice extent of 5.61 million square miles (14.54 million square kilometers) will beat out the previous record of 5.67 million square miles (14.67 million square kilometers) set in March 2011.
Does a record low Arctic Sea ice winter maximum mean that there will be a record low summer minimum? Not necessarily. Both 2006 and 2011 had unusually low maximums, but did not set new record low minimums. On the other hand, 2012 had a winter maximum close to the long term average (1980-2010) and went on to have a record-breaking summer minimum Arctic sea ice extent.
At the other end of the Earth, Antarctic sea ice reached its annual minimum at 1.38 million square miles (3.58 million square kilometers) on February 20, 2015. This is the fourth highest summer minimum extent on record. Over the satellite record, Arctic sea ice has declined significantly, while Antarctic sea ice has slightly increased. But the slight increase in Antarctic sea ice does not make up for the loss of Arctic sea ice. Globally, the Earth has been losing an average of 13,500 square miles (35,000 square kilometers) of sea ice per year since 1979 – an area of sea ice the size of the state of Maryland.
Learn more about the Arctic sea ice winter maximum and global sea ice extent from Climate.gov.
Map: Arctic sea ice extent on February 25, 2015. The yellow line is the 1981-2010 median extent for the same date. (Climate.gov)
(Sources: National Snow and Ice Data Center. (2015). Arctic sea ice maximum reaches lowest extent on record. Retrieved from http://nsidc.org/news/newsroom/arctic-sea-ice-maximum-reaches-lowest-extent-record; NOAA. (2015). Arctic sea ice winter maximum may be smallest on record. Retrieved from https://www.climate.gov/news-features/featured-images/arctic-sea-ice-winter-maximum-may-be-smallest-record; Viñas, M. and Carlowicz, M. (2015). Despite Antarctic Gains, Global Sea Ice is Shrinking. Retrieved from http://www.climate.gov/news-features/features/despite-antarctic-gains-global-sea-ice-shrinking)
