Antarctic ice marks a historic minimum with the smallest extent recorded in 40 years

The extent of Antarctic ice this southern winter has been 16.96 million square kilometers, the smallest recorded in more than four decades, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) of the United States.

The agency stresses that there is some concern that this could be the start of a long-term trend of declining Antarctic sea ice, “as oceans are warming globally and warm water mixing in the polar cap of the Southern Ocean could continue.” “.

The NSIDC, which depends on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), explains that this extension reached on September 10 was 1.03 million square kilometers smaller than the previous record in the winter of 1986.

Likewise, data collected by satellite since 1979 show that sea ice in the winter of 2023 extended 1.75 million square kilometers less than the average maximum extent from 1981 to 2010.

This is the first time, since this record has been kept, that it was below 17 million square kilometers and one of the earliest, having occurred 13 days before the average date between 1981 and 2010, which was December 23. September. “This year is really different,” says NSIDC's Ted Scambos. “It's a very sudden change.”

The report adds that “the extent of sea ice is notably smaller north of Queen Maud Land and west of the Antarctic Peninsula.” Other areas with lower coverage include the Indian Ocean and the Ross Sea, while sea ice extent was above average in the Admunsen Sea.