Global marine ice hits the lowest level of history

Arctic and Antarctica are experiencing unusually warm temperatures. Data from the US National Snow Data Center (NSIDC) shows that the total area of ​​sea ice in the Arctic and Antarctica is 15.76 million km2 in 5 days before February 13. This figure is significantly lower than the previous record of 15.93 million km2, established in 5 days between January and February 2023. Considering each area, the Arctic marine ice is at a record low, while the Antarctic sea band is almost touching the new bottom.

At the end of last year, the Arctic marine ice dropped to a record low compared to December of every year. Shortly thereafter, in January 2025 was January with the second lowest maritime marine, and the total freezing area is currently about 0.2 million km2 lower than the previous low level of February.

The record for the melting level of the Antarctica bandage has been broken many times during the summer of the Southern Hemisphere, with many new milestones achieved in December 2024 and January 2025. According to NSIDC, this mass melting due to the abnormal temperatures of the Antarctic ice sheet. The temperature of this place is about 1 degrees higher than the average of 1 degrees Celsius during the second half of 2024.

Another analysis also shows that the warm temperature of the Southern Ocean and the changes in the wind may be speeding up the loss of ice and help explain why Antarctic Marine Meteor is about to break the record low level of 2023. According to the study, without climate change, the level of low marine bangs of Antarctica in 2023 will only occur once in 2,000 years.

However, climate change is creating new milestones. For example, in January 2025, the hottest month was recorded, while in 2024, the world first passed the increase in 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to the industrial heat level. The northernmost temperature is about 20 degrees Celsius higher than expected in early February, contributing to slowing down the freezing process this winter.

The low maritime ice can cause a disastrous cycle due to the Albedo effect – the trend of light surfaces that reflect the sunlight to the space. When the white ice covers the narrow earth’s poles, the dark ocean will reveal more, absorb more solar radiation and the earth is increasingly warm. As the temperature continues to rise, scientists are concerned that the North Pole can go through the first summer without ice before this century.