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Arab News
29-03-2025
- Science
- Arab News
Arctic sea ice hits lowest peak in satellite record, says US agency
Arctic sea ice forms and expands during the dark, frigid northern winter, reaching its seasonal high point in MarchIn recent years, less new ice has formed, and the accumulation of multi-year ice has steadily declinedWASHINGTON: This year's Arctic Sea ice peak is the lowest in the 47-year satellite record, according to data released by the US National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) on Thursday, as the planet continues to swelter under the mounting effects of human-driven climate sea ice forms and expands during the dark, frigid northern winter, reaching its seasonal high point in March. But in recent years, less new ice has formed, and the accumulation of multi-year ice has steadily maximum sea ice level for 2025 was likely reached on March 22, measuring 14.33 million square kilometers (5.53 million square miles) — below the previous low of 14.41 million square kilometers set in 2017.'This new record low is yet another indicator of how Arctic sea ice has fundamentally changed from earlier decades,' said NSIDC senior research scientist Walt Meier in a statement.'But even more importantly than the record low is that this year adds yet another data point to the continuing long-term loss of Arctic sea ice in all seasons.'The Arctic record follows a near-record-low summer minimum in the Antarctic, where seasons are 2025 Antarctic sea ice minimum, reached on March 1, was just 1.98 million square kilometers, tying for the second-lowest annual minimum in the satellite record, alongside 2022 and Arctic and Antarctic sea ice cover — frozen ocean water that floats on the surface — plunged to a record low in mid-February, more than a million square miles below the pre-2010 average. That is an area larger than the entire country of Algeria.'We're going to come into this next summer season with less ice to begin with,' said Linette Boisvert, an ice scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. 'It doesn't bode well for the future.'US scientists primarily monitor sea ice using satellites from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP), which detect Earth's microwave open water and sea ice emit microwave energy differently, the contrast allows sea ice to stand out clearly in satellite imagery — even through cloud cover, which obscures traditional optical data is supplemented with historical records, including early observations from the Nimbus-7 satellite, which operated from 1978 to floating sea ice does not directly raise sea levels, its disappearance sets off a cascade of climate consequences, altering weather patterns, disrupting ocean currents, and threatening ecosystems and human reflective ice gives way to the darker ocean, more solar energy is absorbed rather than reflected back into space, accelerating both ice melt and global Arctic ice is also reshaping geopolitics, opening new shipping lanes and drawing geopolitical interest. Since taking office this year, US President Donald Trump has said his country must control Greenland, a Danish autonomous territory rich in mineral loss of polar ice spells disaster for numerous species, robbing polar bears, seals, and penguins of crucial habitat used for shelter, hunting, and year was the hottest on record, and the trend continues: 2025 began with the warmest January ever recorded, followed by the third-warmest predicts that La Nina weather conditions, which tend to cool global temperatures, are likely to give way to neutral conditions that would persist over the Northern Hemisphere regions are especially vulnerable to global warming, heating several times faster than the global mid-2023, only July 2024 fell below 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming, raising concerns that the Paris Agreement's goal of limiting long-term warming to 1.5C may be slipping out of reach.
Express Tribune
28-03-2025
- Science
- Express Tribune
Arctic sea ice hits lowest peak, says US agency
This year's Arctic sea ice peak is the lowest in the 47-year satellite record, the US National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) said Thursday, as the planet continues to swelter under the mounting effects of human-driven climate change. The start of this year saw the warmest January on record followed by the third-warmest February, with the polar regions heating several times faster than the global average. The 2025 maximum sea ice extent was likely reached on March 22, measuring 14.33 million square kilometers (5.53 million square miles) -- below the previous low of 14.41 million square kilometers set in 2017. "This new record low is yet another indicator of how Arctic sea ice has fundamentally changed from earlier decades," said NSIDC senior research scientist Walt Meier in a statement. "But even more importantly than the record low is that this year adds yet another data point to the continuing long-term loss of Arctic sea ice in all seasons." The record-low Arctic maximum extent follows a near-record-low minimum extent of sea ice in the Antarctic, where it is now summer. The 2025 Antarctic sea ice minimum, achieved on March 1, was 1.98 million square kilometers, tying for the second-lowest annual minimum in the satellite record, alongside 2022 and 2024. Combined Arctic and Antarctic sea ice cover -- frozen ocean water that floats on the surface -- plunged to a record low in February, according to both the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Europe's Copernicus Climate Change Service. While floating sea ice does not directly raise sea levels, its disappearance sets off a cascade of climate consequences, altering weather patterns, disrupting ocean currents, and threatening ecosystems and human communities. When reflective ice gives way to the dark ocean, the sun's energy, instead of bouncing back into space, is absorbed by the water, warming it and fueling further ice melt and global warming. Shrinking Arctic ice is also reshaping geopolitics, opening new shipping lanes and drawing geopolitical interest. Since taking office this year, US President Donald Trump has said his country must control Greenland, a Danish autonomous territory rich in mineral resources. The loss of polar ice spells disaster for numerous species, robbing polar bears, seals, and penguins of crucial habitat used for shelter, hunting, and breeding.
Al Etihad
27-03-2025
- Science
- Al Etihad
Arctic sea ice hits lowest peak in satellite record, says US agency
27 Mar 2025 22:32 WASHINGTON (AFP) This year's Arctic sea ice peak is the lowest in the 47-year satellite record, the US National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) said Thursday, as the planet continues to swelter under the mounting effects of human-driven climate start of this year saw the warmest January on record followed by the third-warmest February, with the polar regions heating several times faster than the global 2025 maximum sea ice extent was likely reached on March 22, measuring 14.33 million square kilometers (5.53 million square miles) -- below the previous low of 14.41 million square kilometers set in 2017."This new record low is yet another indicator of how Arctic sea ice has fundamentally changed from earlier decades," said NSIDC senior research scientist Walt Meier in a statement. "But even more importantly than the record low is that this year adds yet another data point to the continuing long-term loss of Arctic sea ice in all seasons."The record-low Arctic maximum extent follows a near-record-low minimum extent of sea ice in the Antarctic, where it is now summer. The 2025 Antarctic sea ice minimum, achieved on March 1, was 1.98 million square kilometers, tying for the second-lowest annual minimum in the satellite record, alongside 2022 and 2024. Combined Arctic and Antarctic sea ice cover -- frozen ocean water that floats on the surface -- plunged to a record low in February, according to both the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Europe's Copernicus Climate Change Service.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Arctic sea ice hits lowest peak in satellite record, says US agency
This year's Arctic sea ice peak is the lowest in the 47-year satellite record, the US National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) said Thursday, as the planet continues to swelter under the mounting effects of human-driven climate change. The start of this year saw the warmest January on record followed by the third-warmest February, with the polar regions heating several times faster than the global average. The 2025 maximum sea ice extent was likely reached on March 22, measuring 14.33 million square kilometers (5.53 million square miles) -- below the previous low of 14.41 million square kilometers set in 2017. "This new record low is yet another indicator of how Arctic sea ice has fundamentally changed from earlier decades," said NSIDC senior research scientist Walt Meier in a statement. "But even more importantly than the record low is that this year adds yet another data point to the continuing long-term loss of Arctic sea ice in all seasons." The record-low Arctic maximum extent follows a near-record-low minimum extent of sea ice in the Antarctic, where it is now summer. The 2025 Antarctic sea ice minimum, achieved on March 1, was 1.98 million square kilometers, tying for the second-lowest annual minimum in the satellite record, alongside 2022 and 2024. Combined Arctic and Antarctic sea ice cover -- frozen ocean water that floats on the surface -- plunged to a record low in February, according to both the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Europe's Copernicus Climate Change Service. - A vicious cycle - While floating sea ice does not directly raise sea levels, its disappearance sets off a cascade of climate consequences, altering weather patterns, disrupting ocean currents, and threatening ecosystems and human communities. When reflective ice gives way to the dark ocean, the sun's energy, instead of bouncing back into space, is absorbed by the water, warming it and fueling further ice melt and global warming. Shrinking Arctic ice is also reshaping geopolitics, opening new shipping lanes and drawing geopolitical interest. Since taking office this year, US President Donald Trump has said his country must control Greenland, a Danish autonomous territory rich in mineral resources. The loss of polar ice spells disaster for numerous species, robbing polar bears, seals, and penguins of crucial habitat used for shelter, hunting, and breeding. Last year was the hottest on record, and the latest NOAA prediction issued on March 13 predicts that La Nina weather conditions, which have a cooling effect on global average temperatures, were likely to give way to neutral conditions over the next month that would persist over the Northern Hemisphere summer. Since mid-2023, only July 2024 fell below 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming, raising concerns that the Paris Agreement's goal of limiting long-term warming to 1.5C may be out of reach. ia/aha
Yahoo
15-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
World's sea-ice falls to record low
The world's frozen oceans, which help to keep the planet cool, currently have less ice than ever previously recorded, satellite data shows. Sea-ice around the north and south poles acts like a giant mirror by reflecting much of the Sun's energy back into space. But as rising temperatures cause this bright layer to shrink, the dark ocean below can absorb more heat, warming the planet further. This latest sea-ice low appears to have been driven by a combination of warm air, warm seas and winds breaking apart the ice. Over the 5 days to 13 February, the combined extent of Arctic and Antarctic sea-ice was 15.76 million sq km (6.08 million sq miles), according to BBC analysis of data from the US National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC). This breaks the previous 5-day record low of 15.93 million sq km (6.15 million sq miles) from January-February 2023. Arctic sea-ice is currently at its smallest recorded extent for the time of year, while Antarctic sea-ice is close to a new low in satellite records going back to the late 1970s. The decline of Arctic sea-ice in response to a warming planet is well-established. Its end-of-summer extent fell from an average of 7 million sq km in the 1980s to 4.5 million sq km in the 2010s. But until the mid-2010s, Antarctic sea-ice had been remarkably resilient, defying predictions that it would shrink. Since then, Antarctica has shown a series of very low sea-ice extents, although there is still lots of natural variability. "Every year, every data point that we get suggests that this isn't a temporary shift, but something more permanent, like what we've seen in the Arctic," Walter Meier, senior research scientist at NSIDC, told BBC News. "It is indicating that the Antarctic has moved into a new regime of lower ice extents." Antarctic sea-ice is relatively thin and mobile - being surrounded by ocean rather than continents like the Arctic - so it can be particularly sensitive to winds breaking up the ice. But warmer air and warmer waters look to have played a key role in this latest 2025 low, towards the end of the southern hemisphere summer. The Antarctic ice-shelves – ice flowing off the Antarctic continent, rather than sea-ice – appears to have had a particularly extreme season of surface melting, driven by high air temperatures. "Atmospheric conditions in December and January looked like they were strongly promoting surface melting on the ice-shelves," said Tom Bracegirdle, research scientist at the British Antarctic Survey. "That could also have contributed to what we've seen in Antarctic sea-ice, and ongoing ocean warming is setting the backdrop to all of this as well." Antarctica's record sea-ice low of 2023 would have been a one-in-2,000 year event without climate change, according to a recent study. Yet 2025 is not far from eclipsing it. At the other end of the planet, the Arctic should be reaching its annual maximum, with cold winter temperatures helping the oceans to freeze over. But current sea-ice extent is nearly 0.2 million sq km below anything previously recorded for the time of year, and has been tracking very low since late 2024. This is partly as a result of a late freeze-up of ice around Hudson Bay, with unusually warm ocean waters taking a long time to cool down. As well as warmer seas, some storms also disrupted ice around the Barents and Bering Seas, with the consequences likely amplified by long-term reductions in sea-ice thickness. "A thinner ice cover is more responsive to weather [… so] weather events can have a stronger impact than they used to," said Julienne Stroeve, professor of polar observation and modelling at University College London. In recent weeks, Arctic sea-ice has moved even further below average. Temperatures around the north pole were about 20C above normal in early February, leading to melting conditions in places like Svalbard. This "is quite astonishing" for the time of year, according to Dr Bracegirdle. This very low winter extent doesn't necessarily mean the Arctic will end up with record conditions throughout 2025, as conditions can change quickly at the poles. But, with the Arctic warming nearly four times faster than the global average, declines over the coming decades are almost inevitable. The Arctic is expected to be essentially free of sea-ice at the end of its summer at least once before 2050, according to the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Some recent studies suggest it could happen sooner. Declining sea-ice at both poles not only has implications for local wildlife like polar bears and penguins, but also the Earth's climate. Polar sea-ice has already lost around 14% of its natural cooling effect since the early-to-mid 1980s, as the area of bright, reflective ice has declined, according to a study published last year. "If you significantly change the sea ice distribution in and around Antarctica, you modify that part of the planet which is actually helping us fight against climate change," said Simon Josey, a professor at the National Oceanography Centre. Sea-ice also plays an important role in the great ocean conveyor, the mass movement of water that helps distribute heat around the planet and keeps places like the UK and north-west Europe relatively mild. "If we see another strong winter loss [of Antarctic sea-ice], people are going to start to worry about what it's doing to the ocean circulation," said Prof Josey. Additional reporting by Becky Dale Trouble in Arctic town as polar bears and people face warming world Antarctic ice at 'mind-blowing' low alarms experts Antarctica sea-ice hits new record low Sign up for our Future Earth newsletter to get exclusive insight on the latest climate and environment news from the BBC's Climate Editor Justin Rowlatt, delivered to your inbox every week. Outside the UK? Sign up to our international newsletter here.
