First published · Last updated
A million square kilometres short: the ice ring around Antarctica keeps shrinking
Sea ice around Antarctica reached its third-lowest winter maximum since satellite records began in 1979, peaking at 17.59 million square kilometres on September 14, about one million km² below the historical average. The four lowest winter maxima in the satellite record have occurred in the last four years.
Categories: environment-and-climate, science-and-space
Generated scores
Scores are based on the cited reporting and use a 1–10 scale. Read the methodology.
- Confidence
- 6/10
- Geographic reach
- 6/10
- Global importance
- 4/10
- Impact magnitude
- 4/10
- Positivity
- 2/10
- Urgency
- 3/10
Why it matters
The recent consecutive low maxima indicate a continuing downward trend in Antarctic sea ice extent.