The months-long expansion of Arctic sea ice during the brutal cold of polar winter appears to have reached its seasonal peak.
According to an announcement today by the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), the maximum extent of the ice this year is about 336,000 square miles below the 1981 to 2010 average maximum.
That extent of missing ice is about twice the size of California. And it means the maximum extent of Arctic sea ice this year is tied with 2007 for seventh lowest in the satellite record, which dates to 1979.
One caveat: Continued winter conditions could still push the ice extent higher, so this is still preliminary. Final data should be available in early April.
This animation shows daily Arctic sea ice extents for 2007, 2012, 2020, and 2021. The decadal averages are also included for the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s. The plot has been ...
