A Dec. 26, 2024, Instagram post shows maps of purported Antarctic sea ice extent, or area, from Dec. 24, 1979, and the same day in 2024. Text above the graphic says the extent was larger in 2024 ...

New research shows that climate systems like sea ice and permafrost may shift abruptly, even at 1.5°C (2.7°F) of warming.

Arctic sea ice bottoms out at the end of summer in September. The last 18 years have seen the lowest sea ice levels on record, a downward spiral that will continue, scientists say.

Overall, Arctic sea ice area has declined for every month since 1979, according to National Snow and Ice Data Center data. Sea ice area on April 29 in both 1989 and 2024 was well below the 1979 ...

Predictions indicate that the earliest ice-free conditions in the Arctic Ocean could potentially occur sometime in the 2020s to the 2030s and are likely to happen before the 2050s, the study found.

The loss of sea ice can disrupt the Arctic ecosystem in a number of ways, the study outlines. Arctic animals, like polar bears and seals, could face challenges as they rely on ice for their survival.

Arctic sea ice is shrinking as humans continue to heat up the world by burning fossil fuels. Since the mid-1980s, the amount of thick, multi-year ice has shrunk by 95%.

By midcentury — 2035 to 2067 — the Arctic could see consistent ice-free conditions in September, the month when sea ice concentrations are typically at their minimum, the study found.

Arctic sea ice reached a record low in March 2025, marking the lowest extent in the 47-year satellite record. The shrinking sea ice, attributed to rising global temperatures from burning fossil ...

A 2020 press release stated, “Massive amounts of melting sea ice in the Arctic drained into the North Atlantic and disrupted climate-steering currents, thus playing an important role in causing ...