Unusually warm temperatures recorded in the Arctic and Antarctica are profoundly impacting the sea ice cycle. According to new research, sea ice levels have never been this low.
While Arctic sea ice reached a historically low level last December, the first month of the new year has turned out to be the second worst January since records began.
For February, during which temperatures up to 20 °C above normal were recorded at the North Pole, the record has already been broken, with an area approximately 0.2 million square kilometers below the previously recorded lowest level. The current trend suggests that the Arctic could experience its first ice-free summer before 2050.
On the other side of the planet, the record for surface melting of the Antarctic ice sheet has been broken multiple times during the austral summer. Unusually high temperatures, both above the continent (more than 1 °C above the average for the second half of 2024) and in the Southern Ocean, largely explain this. At the current rate, Antarctica is on track to reach its lowest sea ice level (the previous record was set in 2023).
Vicious Cycle
Lower sea ice levels limit the amount of solar radiation reflected by our planet. As coverage decreases at the poles, larger areas of the ocean are exposed, trapping more heat.
Overall, this new work illustrates the intensification of global warming on a planetary scale.
Source: dailygeekshow
