Arctic sea ice continues its downward spiral, reaching a record low extent for the month of May

A May 21, 2016 satellite view of the Beaufort Sea off the coast of Alaska and Canada shows highly fragmented sea ice. (Source: LANCE System/NASA/GSFC via National Snow and Ice Data Center) Back in mid-May, unusually warm conditions, and shrinking sea ice coverage, prompted Ted Scambos of the National Snow and Ice Data Center to predict that "the Arctic is going to go through hell this year." Almost a month later, that prediction seems right on track. Each and every day during May, the extent of Arctic sea ice shrunk by an area roughly equal to the state of West Virginia. Sea ice does decline naturally in May, as the weather warms up. But this rate of loss was more rapid than during any other May in the 38-year satellite record. So it should come as no surprise that overall, May saw the lowest average extent on record for the ...