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NSIDC The National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), supports research into our world's frozen realms: the snow, ice, glaciers, frozen ground, and climate interactions that make up Earth's cryosphere.
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September 3rd, 2026 14:49:30 EDT -0400 Arctic zigs; Antarctic zags
Arctic zigs; Antarctic zags

Greetings, readers! Our monthly sea ice analyses are returning just in time for the September equinox. In the Arctic, the sea ice extent this summer was tracking 2012 levels until August. While Siberia and the Canadian Archipelago experienced a very warm summer, the high-latitude Arctic Ocean was relatively cool. In the Antarctic, sea ice underwent an unusually large mid-winter decline over a week in August. 

Overview of conditions

Arctic sea ice extent for August 2026 averaged 5.56 million square kilometers (2.15 million square miles), the seventh lowest in the satellite record (Figure 1a). This monthly average extent was 840,000 square kilometers (324,000 square miles) above the satellite record low set in 2012 (Figure 1b). Sea ice extent was far below average around most of the Arctic Ocean, with substantial open water particularly in the Beaufort, Chukchi, and East Siberian Seas. The Beaufort and Chukchi Seas experienced rapid change over the month. In early August, the ice edge in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas was near average, just off the north coast of Alaska. Then, during the first week of August, an open water region developed north of Utqiaġvik at about 75° N latitude. The open water region rapidly expanded, eventually becoming a large embayment in the ice edge. By the end of August, much of the ice in the Beaufort Sea had melted out. On the Atlantic side, relatively low sea ice concentrations were the rule, extending all the way to the pole (Figure 1c). 

Arctic sea ice extent for August 2026
graph shows Arctic sea ice extent as of September 2, 2026, along with daily ice extent data for four previous years and the record low year

Figure 1a. Arctic sea ice extent for August 2026 was 5.56 million square kilometers (2.15 million square miles). The magenta line shows the 1981 to 2010 average extent for that month. Sea Ice Index data. About the data — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Figure 1b. This graph shows Arctic sea ice extent as of September 2, 2026, along with daily ice extent data for four previous years and the record low year. 2026 is shown in blue, 2025 in green, 2024 in orange, 2023 in brown, 2022 in magenta, and 2012 in dashed brown. The 1981 to 2010 median is in dark gray. The gray areas around the median line show the interquartile and interdecile ranges of the data. Sea Ice Index data. — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

low sea ice concentration near the North Pole on August 31, 2026,
Figure 1c. This True Color Composite satellite image shows low sea ice concentration from Svalbard (lower right) toward the North Pole on August 31, 2026. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument on the NASA Terra satellite captured this image. — Credit: NASA Worldview

Conditions in context

In spring and early summer, low pressure and relatively cool weather persisted over the Arctic Ocean. Average temperatures from May through July at the 925 millibar level (about 2,500 feet above the surface) were up to 2 degrees Celsius (4 degrees Fahrenheit) below the 1981 to 2026 average (Figure 2a). Persistent cold-cored cyclones kept temperatures low, resulting in a pronounced low pressure cell centered over the pole in the three-months average (Figure 2b). Cloudy conditions led to less solar insolation at the surface. This, combined with low temperature, led to late melt onset in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas (Figure 2c) (Evident in preliminary data derived from passive microwave sensors, provided by Angela Bliss at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center). Melt began nearly a month later than the 1981 to 2010 average in the southern Chukchi Sea. On the Atlantic side, melt onset was earlier than average or near average. These strong regional contrasts guided the early summer progression of ice loss.

departure from average air temperature in the Arctic
average sea level pressure in the Arctic in millibars for April 2025

Figure 2a. This plot shows the departure from average air temperature in the Arctic at the 925 hectopascal, in degrees Celsius, for May through July 2026, relative to the 1981 to 2010 average. Yellows to reds indicate above average temperatures; greens to purples indicate below average temperatures. Based on data set ERA5 (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Reanalysis 5), DOI: 10.24381/cds.adbb2d47. — Credit: NSIDC courtesy NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory Physical Sciences Laboratory

Figure 2b. This plot shows average sea level pressure in the Arctic in hectopascal for May through July 2026. Yellows to reds indicate higher air pressure; greens to purples indicate lower pressure. Based on data set ERA5 (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Reanalysis 5), DOI: 10.24381/cds.adbb2d47. — Credit: NSIDC courtesy NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory Physical Sciences Laboratory

onset of sea ice melt as a difference from average, measured in days
Figure 2c. The map on the left shows the onset of sea ice melt in the Arctic as a difference from the 1991 to 2020 average, measured in days. Yellow indicates where no melt has been detected. The graph on the left depicts the average onset of Arctic melt from 1979 to 2026, with the dashed red line noting the negative trend. — Credit: Angela Bliss, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

August 2026 compared to previous years

The downward linear trend in Arctic sea ice extent through 2026 for August is 69,100 square kilometers (26,700 square miles) per year or 9.6 percent per decade relative to the 1981 to 2010 average (Figure 3). Based on the linear trend, since 1979, August has lost 3.24 million square kilometers (1.25 million square miles) of sea ice. This is equivalent to about two times the size of Alaska. 

Monthly August ice extent for 1979 to 2026 shows a decline of 9.6 percent per decade.
Figure 3. Monthly August ice extent for 1979 to 2026 shows a decline of 9.6 percent per decade. — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Ship report from the pole

NSIDC scientist Matt Shupe and other researchers cruised to the pole on the Swedish icebreaker Oden, leaving Svalbard on August 10. Shupe noted the large amount of open water en-route seen in the satellite imagery: “[There was] a remarkable amount of open water, vast expanses sometimes large enough that I could not see the other side of them. These areas of open water extended pretty much the whole way to the pole." He also noted the absence of melt ponds, in contrast to recent years. Despite the open water, he noted that melt ponds had frozen over and were covered by snow (Figure 4). Data and reports from ships and field observations provide valuable detailed information and local context that complements satellite data. 

Ice floes spread vastly amid large areas of newly forming ice
Figure 4. Ice floes spread vastly amid large areas of newly forming ice that were ice free through much of the summer. This photograph, taken from Icebreaker Oden at about 83°N latitude, captures an Arctic sunset on August 29. — Credit: Matthew Shupe, National Snow and Ice Data Center

Sea ice down south

In the Antarctic, sea ice is expanding and will reach its annual maximum extent in the coming weeks. This year, extent has been below the 1981 to 2010 average, as has been the case nearly every month since late 2016; however, it has been above the record low levels of 2023 and 2024. The August average extent was 16.46 million square kilometer (6.36 million square miles), 1.26 million square kilometers (486,000 square miles) below the 1981 to 2010 average. Earlier in the year, as late as May, ice extent was extremely low in the Bellingshausen Sea. This area has now largely recovered, but the adjacent Amundsen Sea has low sea ice extent, along with much of the East Antarctic region. 

The most notable feature of the austral growth season was a substantial decline in extent over a period of a week in early August. From August 8 to August 14, extent declined 310,000 square kilometers (120,000 square miles). Pauses in growth and short periods of decline are not unusual because of shifting weather patterns that can melt ice near the edge and/or push the ice edge poleward. This is especially true as the sea ice edge reaches the stormy northern latitudes of the Southern Ocean.

Antarctic sea ice extent for August 2026
Antarctic sea ice extent as of September 2, 2026, along with daily ice extent data for four previous years and 2014, the record high year.

Figure 5a. Antarctic sea ice extent for August 2026 was 16.46 million square kilometers (6.36 million square miles). The magenta line shows the 1981 to 2010 average extent for that month. Sea Ice Index data. About the data — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Figure 5b. This graph shows Antarctic sea ice extent as of September 2, 2026, along with daily ice extent data for four previous years and 2014, the record high year. 2026 is shown in blue, 2025 in green, 2024 n orange, 2023 in brown, 2022 in magenta, and 2014 in dashed brown. The 1981 to 2010 median is in dark gray. The gray areas around the median line show the interquartile and interdecile ranges of the data. Sea Ice Index data. — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Greenland Ice Sheet

While the other analysis site Ice Sheets Today remains in hiatus, we will include some updates from other sources as we receive them. The Greenland melt season has not been exceptional, but overall melt is similar to 2011 and 2016. The surface mass balance, calculated by the total snow and rainfall minus runoff and evaporation, stands at about -150 billion tons. Low snowfall last winter in several key exposed surface areas led to rapid runoff beginning in mid-July as the previous winter’s snow cover melted off. A few warm events spanned the southern dome of Greenland, but the more central Summit area did not see temperatures exceed -3 degrees Celsius (27 degrees Fahrenheit). 

surface mass balance for the Greenland Ice Sheet as a difference from the 1981 to 2010 average for September 2025 to August 2026,
Figure 6. This graph shows the surface mass balance for the Greenland Ice Sheet as a difference from the 1981 to 2010 average for September 2025 to August 2026, and several other recent seasons. The values are derived from the MAR 3.14.2 climate model based on weather data and physics. The gray band shows the 90 percent range of values over the entire model record. — Credit: X. Fettweis, University of Liège, MAR 3.14.2 model

Acknowledgement

We gratefully acknowledge new funding from the Climate Science and Communications Fund. The Fund represents a collaborative group of donors and scientists dedicated to supporting climate scientists and communicators and is administered by Surge Climate Talent. The views expressed in these analysis posts are those of the NSIDC science team and do not necessarily reflect the views of Surge Climate Talent.

agnieszka.gaut…
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August 19th, 2026 17:40:41 EDT -0400 NSIDC’s analysis site Sea Ice Today returns
Arctic zigs; Antarctic zags

Greetings, readers! Our monthly sea ice analyses are returning just in time for the September equinox. In the Arctic, the sea ice extent this summer was tracking 2012 levels until August. While Siberia and the Canadian Archipelago experienced a very warm summer, the high-latitude Arctic Ocean was relatively cool. In the Antarctic, sea ice underwent an unusually large mid-winter decline over a week in August. 

Overview of conditions

Arctic sea ice extent for August 2026 averaged 5.56 million square kilometers (2.15 million square miles), the seventh lowest in the satellite record (Figure 1a). This monthly average extent was 840,000 square kilometers (324,000 square miles) above the satellite record low set in 2012 (Figure 1b). Sea ice extent was far below average around most of the Arctic Ocean, with substantial open water particularly in the Beaufort, Chukchi, and East Siberian Seas. The Beaufort and Chukchi Seas experienced rapid change over the month. In early August, the ice edge in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas was near average, just off the north coast of Alaska. Then, during the first week of August, an open water region developed north of Utqiaġvik at about 75° N latitude. The open water region rapidly expanded, eventually becoming a large embayment in the ice edge. By the end of August, much of the ice in the Beaufort Sea had melted out. On the Atlantic side, relatively low sea ice concentrations were the rule, extending all the way to the pole (Figure 1c). 

Arctic sea ice extent for August 2026
graph shows Arctic sea ice extent as of September 2, 2026, along with daily ice extent data for four previous years and the record low year

Figure 1a. Arctic sea ice extent for August 2026 was 5.56 million square kilometers (2.15 million square miles). The magenta line shows the 1981 to 2010 average extent for that month. Sea Ice Index data. About the data — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Figure 1b. This graph shows Arctic sea ice extent as of September 2, 2026, along with daily ice extent data for four previous years and the record low year. 2026 is shown in blue, 2025 in green, 2024 in orange, 2023 in brown, 2022 in magenta, and 2012 in dashed brown. The 1981 to 2010 median is in dark gray. The gray areas around the median line show the interquartile and interdecile ranges of the data. Sea Ice Index data. — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

low sea ice concentration near the North Pole on August 31, 2026,
Figure 1c. This True Color Composite satellite image shows low sea ice concentration from Svalbard (lower right) toward the North Pole on August 31, 2026. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument on the NASA Terra satellite captured this image. — Credit: NASA Worldview

Conditions in context

In spring and early summer, low pressure and relatively cool weather persisted over the Arctic Ocean. Average temperatures from May through July at the 925 millibar level (about 2,500 feet above the surface) were up to 2 degrees Celsius (4 degrees Fahrenheit) below the 1981 to 2026 average (Figure 2a). Persistent cold-cored cyclones kept temperatures low, resulting in a pronounced low pressure cell centered over the pole in the three-months average (Figure 2b). Cloudy conditions led to less solar insolation at the surface. This, combined with low temperature, led to late melt onset in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas (Figure 2c) (Evident in preliminary data derived from passive microwave sensors, provided by Angela Bliss at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center). Melt began nearly a month later than the 1981 to 2010 average in the southern Chukchi Sea. On the Atlantic side, melt onset was earlier than average or near average. These strong regional contrasts guided the early summer progression of ice loss.

departure from average air temperature in the Arctic
average sea level pressure in the Arctic in millibars for April 2025

Figure 2a. This plot shows the departure from average air temperature in the Arctic at the 925 hectopascal, in degrees Celsius, for May through July 2026, relative to the 1981 to 2010 average. Yellows to reds indicate above average temperatures; greens to purples indicate below average temperatures. Based on data set ERA5 (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Reanalysis 5), DOI: 10.24381/cds.adbb2d47. — Credit: NSIDC courtesy NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory Physical Sciences Laboratory

Figure 2b. This plot shows average sea level pressure in the Arctic in hectopascal for May through July 2026. Yellows to reds indicate higher air pressure; greens to purples indicate lower pressure. Based on data set ERA5 (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Reanalysis 5), DOI: 10.24381/cds.adbb2d47. — Credit: NSIDC courtesy NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory Physical Sciences Laboratory

onset of sea ice melt as a difference from average, measured in days
Figure 2c. The map on the left shows the onset of sea ice melt in the Arctic as a difference from the 1991 to 2020 average, measured in days. Yellow indicates where no melt has been detected. The graph on the left depicts the average onset of Arctic melt from 1979 to 2026, with the dashed red line noting the negative trend. — Credit: Angela Bliss, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

August 2026 compared to previous years

The downward linear trend in Arctic sea ice extent through 2026 for August is 69,100 square kilometers (26,700 square miles) per year or 9.6 percent per decade relative to the 1981 to 2010 average (Figure 3). Based on the linear trend, since 1979, August has lost 3.24 million square kilometers (1.25 million square miles) of sea ice. This is equivalent to about two times the size of Alaska. 

Monthly August ice extent for 1979 to 2026 shows a decline of 9.6 percent per decade.
Figure 3. Monthly August ice extent for 1979 to 2026 shows a decline of 9.6 percent per decade. — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Ship report from the pole

NSIDC scientist Matt Shupe and other researchers cruised to the pole on the Swedish icebreaker Oden, leaving Svalbard on August 10. Shupe noted the large amount of open water en-route seen in the satellite imagery: “[There was] a remarkable amount of open water, vast expanses sometimes large enough that I could not see the other side of them. These areas of open water extended pretty much the whole way to the pole." He also noted the absence of melt ponds, in contrast to recent years. Despite the open water, he noted that melt ponds had frozen over and were covered by snow (Figure 4). Data and reports from ships and field observations provide valuable detailed information and local context that complements satellite data. 

Ice floes spread vastly amid large areas of newly forming ice
Figure 4. Ice floes spread vastly amid large areas of newly forming ice that were ice free through much of the summer. This photograph, taken from Icebreaker Oden at about 83°N latitude, captures an Arctic sunset on August 29. — Credit: Matthew Shupe, National Snow and Ice Data Center

Sea ice down south

In the Antarctic, sea ice is expanding and will reach its annual maximum extent in the coming weeks. This year, extent has been below the 1981 to 2010 average, as has been the case nearly every month since late 2016; however, it has been above the record low levels of 2023 and 2024. The August average extent was 16.46 million square kilometer (6.36 million square miles), 1.26 million square kilometers (486,000 square miles) below the 1981 to 2010 average. Earlier in the year, as late as May, ice extent was extremely low in the Bellingshausen Sea. This area has now largely recovered, but the adjacent Amundsen Sea has low sea ice extent, along with much of the East Antarctic region. 

The most notable feature of the austral growth season was a substantial decline in extent over a period of a week in early August. From August 8 to August 14, extent declined 310,000 square kilometers (120,000 square miles). Pauses in growth and short periods of decline are not unusual because of shifting weather patterns that can melt ice near the edge and/or push the ice edge poleward. This is especially true as the sea ice edge reaches the stormy northern latitudes of the Southern Ocean.

Antarctic sea ice extent for August 2026
Antarctic sea ice extent as of September 2, 2026, along with daily ice extent data for four previous years and 2014, the record high year.

Figure 5a. Antarctic sea ice extent for August 2026 was 16.46 million square kilometers (6.36 million square miles). The magenta line shows the 1981 to 2010 average extent for that month. Sea Ice Index data. About the data — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Figure 5b. This graph shows Antarctic sea ice extent as of September 2, 2026, along with daily ice extent data for four previous years and 2014, the record high year. 2026 is shown in blue, 2025 in green, 2024 n orange, 2023 in brown, 2022 in magenta, and 2014 in dashed brown. The 1981 to 2010 median is in dark gray. The gray areas around the median line show the interquartile and interdecile ranges of the data. Sea Ice Index data. — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Greenland Ice Sheet

While the other analysis site Ice Sheets Today remains in hiatus, we will include some updates from other sources as we receive them. The Greenland melt season has not been exceptional, but overall melt is similar to 2011 and 2016. The surface mass balance, calculated by the total snow and rainfall minus runoff and evaporation, stands at about -150 billion tons. Low snowfall last winter in several key exposed surface areas led to rapid runoff beginning in mid-July as the previous winter’s snow cover melted off. A few warm events spanned the southern dome of Greenland, but the more central Summit area did not see temperatures exceed -3 degrees Celsius (27 degrees Fahrenheit). 

surface mass balance for the Greenland Ice Sheet as a difference from the 1981 to 2010 average for September 2025 to August 2026,
Figure 6. This graph shows the surface mass balance for the Greenland Ice Sheet as a difference from the 1981 to 2010 average for September 2025 to August 2026, and several other recent seasons. The values are derived from the MAR 3.14.2 climate model based on weather data and physics. The gray band shows the 90 percent range of values over the entire model record. — Credit: X. Fettweis, University of Liège, MAR 3.14.2 model

Acknowledgement

We gratefully acknowledge new funding from the Climate Science and Communications Fund. The Fund represents a collaborative group of donors and scientists dedicated to supporting climate scientists and communicators and is administered by Surge Climate Talent. The views expressed in these analysis posts are those of the NSIDC science team and do not necessarily reflect the views of Surge Climate Talent.

agnieszka.gaut…
Article Type
Analysis - Sea Ice Today
Publish Date
Geophysical Measurement
Sea ice
Anchor links
On
News & Updates
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Section
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Our Research
Subject
Climate Change
Data
Data Visualization
Weather
Geographical Area
Northern Hemisphere
Southern Hemisphere
October 15th, 2025 15:33:02 EDT -0400 Sea Ice Today services reduced
Arctic zigs; Antarctic zags

Greetings, readers! Our monthly sea ice analyses are returning just in time for the September equinox. In the Arctic, the sea ice extent this summer was tracking 2012 levels until August. While Siberia and the Canadian Archipelago experienced a very warm summer, the high-latitude Arctic Ocean was relatively cool. In the Antarctic, sea ice underwent an unusually large mid-winter decline over a week in August. 

Overview of conditions

Arctic sea ice extent for August 2026 averaged 5.56 million square kilometers (2.15 million square miles), the seventh lowest in the satellite record (Figure 1a). This monthly average extent was 840,000 square kilometers (324,000 square miles) above the satellite record low set in 2012 (Figure 1b). Sea ice extent was far below average around most of the Arctic Ocean, with substantial open water particularly in the Beaufort, Chukchi, and East Siberian Seas. The Beaufort and Chukchi Seas experienced rapid change over the month. In early August, the ice edge in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas was near average, just off the north coast of Alaska. Then, during the first week of August, an open water region developed north of Utqiaġvik at about 75° N latitude. The open water region rapidly expanded, eventually becoming a large embayment in the ice edge. By the end of August, much of the ice in the Beaufort Sea had melted out. On the Atlantic side, relatively low sea ice concentrations were the rule, extending all the way to the pole (Figure 1c). 

Arctic sea ice extent for August 2026
graph shows Arctic sea ice extent as of September 2, 2026, along with daily ice extent data for four previous years and the record low year

Figure 1a. Arctic sea ice extent for August 2026 was 5.56 million square kilometers (2.15 million square miles). The magenta line shows the 1981 to 2010 average extent for that month. Sea Ice Index data. About the data — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Figure 1b. This graph shows Arctic sea ice extent as of September 2, 2026, along with daily ice extent data for four previous years and the record low year. 2026 is shown in blue, 2025 in green, 2024 in orange, 2023 in brown, 2022 in magenta, and 2012 in dashed brown. The 1981 to 2010 median is in dark gray. The gray areas around the median line show the interquartile and interdecile ranges of the data. Sea Ice Index data. — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

low sea ice concentration near the North Pole on August 31, 2026,
Figure 1c. This True Color Composite satellite image shows low sea ice concentration from Svalbard (lower right) toward the North Pole on August 31, 2026. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument on the NASA Terra satellite captured this image. — Credit: NASA Worldview

Conditions in context

In spring and early summer, low pressure and relatively cool weather persisted over the Arctic Ocean. Average temperatures from May through July at the 925 millibar level (about 2,500 feet above the surface) were up to 2 degrees Celsius (4 degrees Fahrenheit) below the 1981 to 2026 average (Figure 2a). Persistent cold-cored cyclones kept temperatures low, resulting in a pronounced low pressure cell centered over the pole in the three-months average (Figure 2b). Cloudy conditions led to less solar insolation at the surface. This, combined with low temperature, led to late melt onset in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas (Figure 2c) (Evident in preliminary data derived from passive microwave sensors, provided by Angela Bliss at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center). Melt began nearly a month later than the 1981 to 2010 average in the southern Chukchi Sea. On the Atlantic side, melt onset was earlier than average or near average. These strong regional contrasts guided the early summer progression of ice loss.

departure from average air temperature in the Arctic
average sea level pressure in the Arctic in millibars for April 2025

Figure 2a. This plot shows the departure from average air temperature in the Arctic at the 925 hectopascal, in degrees Celsius, for May through July 2026, relative to the 1981 to 2010 average. Yellows to reds indicate above average temperatures; greens to purples indicate below average temperatures. Based on data set ERA5 (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Reanalysis 5), DOI: 10.24381/cds.adbb2d47. — Credit: NSIDC courtesy NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory Physical Sciences Laboratory

Figure 2b. This plot shows average sea level pressure in the Arctic in hectopascal for May through July 2026. Yellows to reds indicate higher air pressure; greens to purples indicate lower pressure. Based on data set ERA5 (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Reanalysis 5), DOI: 10.24381/cds.adbb2d47. — Credit: NSIDC courtesy NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory Physical Sciences Laboratory

onset of sea ice melt as a difference from average, measured in days
Figure 2c. The map on the left shows the onset of sea ice melt in the Arctic as a difference from the 1991 to 2020 average, measured in days. Yellow indicates where no melt has been detected. The graph on the left depicts the average onset of Arctic melt from 1979 to 2026, with the dashed red line noting the negative trend. — Credit: Angela Bliss, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

August 2026 compared to previous years

The downward linear trend in Arctic sea ice extent through 2026 for August is 69,100 square kilometers (26,700 square miles) per year or 9.6 percent per decade relative to the 1981 to 2010 average (Figure 3). Based on the linear trend, since 1979, August has lost 3.24 million square kilometers (1.25 million square miles) of sea ice. This is equivalent to about two times the size of Alaska. 

Monthly August ice extent for 1979 to 2026 shows a decline of 9.6 percent per decade.
Figure 3. Monthly August ice extent for 1979 to 2026 shows a decline of 9.6 percent per decade. — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Ship report from the pole

NSIDC scientist Matt Shupe and other researchers cruised to the pole on the Swedish icebreaker Oden, leaving Svalbard on August 10. Shupe noted the large amount of open water en-route seen in the satellite imagery: “[There was] a remarkable amount of open water, vast expanses sometimes large enough that I could not see the other side of them. These areas of open water extended pretty much the whole way to the pole." He also noted the absence of melt ponds, in contrast to recent years. Despite the open water, he noted that melt ponds had frozen over and were covered by snow (Figure 4). Data and reports from ships and field observations provide valuable detailed information and local context that complements satellite data. 

Ice floes spread vastly amid large areas of newly forming ice
Figure 4. Ice floes spread vastly amid large areas of newly forming ice that were ice free through much of the summer. This photograph, taken from Icebreaker Oden at about 83°N latitude, captures an Arctic sunset on August 29. — Credit: Matthew Shupe, National Snow and Ice Data Center

Sea ice down south

In the Antarctic, sea ice is expanding and will reach its annual maximum extent in the coming weeks. This year, extent has been below the 1981 to 2010 average, as has been the case nearly every month since late 2016; however, it has been above the record low levels of 2023 and 2024. The August average extent was 16.46 million square kilometer (6.36 million square miles), 1.26 million square kilometers (486,000 square miles) below the 1981 to 2010 average. Earlier in the year, as late as May, ice extent was extremely low in the Bellingshausen Sea. This area has now largely recovered, but the adjacent Amundsen Sea has low sea ice extent, along with much of the East Antarctic region. 

The most notable feature of the austral growth season was a substantial decline in extent over a period of a week in early August. From August 8 to August 14, extent declined 310,000 square kilometers (120,000 square miles). Pauses in growth and short periods of decline are not unusual because of shifting weather patterns that can melt ice near the edge and/or push the ice edge poleward. This is especially true as the sea ice edge reaches the stormy northern latitudes of the Southern Ocean.

Antarctic sea ice extent for August 2026
Antarctic sea ice extent as of September 2, 2026, along with daily ice extent data for four previous years and 2014, the record high year.

Figure 5a. Antarctic sea ice extent for August 2026 was 16.46 million square kilometers (6.36 million square miles). The magenta line shows the 1981 to 2010 average extent for that month. Sea Ice Index data. About the data — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Figure 5b. This graph shows Antarctic sea ice extent as of September 2, 2026, along with daily ice extent data for four previous years and 2014, the record high year. 2026 is shown in blue, 2025 in green, 2024 n orange, 2023 in brown, 2022 in magenta, and 2014 in dashed brown. The 1981 to 2010 median is in dark gray. The gray areas around the median line show the interquartile and interdecile ranges of the data. Sea Ice Index data. — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Greenland Ice Sheet

While the other analysis site Ice Sheets Today remains in hiatus, we will include some updates from other sources as we receive them. The Greenland melt season has not been exceptional, but overall melt is similar to 2011 and 2016. The surface mass balance, calculated by the total snow and rainfall minus runoff and evaporation, stands at about -150 billion tons. Low snowfall last winter in several key exposed surface areas led to rapid runoff beginning in mid-July as the previous winter’s snow cover melted off. A few warm events spanned the southern dome of Greenland, but the more central Summit area did not see temperatures exceed -3 degrees Celsius (27 degrees Fahrenheit). 

surface mass balance for the Greenland Ice Sheet as a difference from the 1981 to 2010 average for September 2025 to August 2026,
Figure 6. This graph shows the surface mass balance for the Greenland Ice Sheet as a difference from the 1981 to 2010 average for September 2025 to August 2026, and several other recent seasons. The values are derived from the MAR 3.14.2 climate model based on weather data and physics. The gray band shows the 90 percent range of values over the entire model record. — Credit: X. Fettweis, University of Liège, MAR 3.14.2 model

Acknowledgement

We gratefully acknowledge new funding from the Climate Science and Communications Fund. The Fund represents a collaborative group of donors and scientists dedicated to supporting climate scientists and communicators and is administered by Surge Climate Talent. The views expressed in these analysis posts are those of the NSIDC science team and do not necessarily reflect the views of Surge Climate Talent.

agnieszka.gaut…
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September 30th, 2025 12:01:53 EDT -0400 Antarctic sea ice maximum settles in third place
Arctic zigs; Antarctic zags

Greetings, readers! Our monthly sea ice analyses are returning just in time for the September equinox. In the Arctic, the sea ice extent this summer was tracking 2012 levels until August. While Siberia and the Canadian Archipelago experienced a very warm summer, the high-latitude Arctic Ocean was relatively cool. In the Antarctic, sea ice underwent an unusually large mid-winter decline over a week in August. 

Overview of conditions

Arctic sea ice extent for August 2026 averaged 5.56 million square kilometers (2.15 million square miles), the seventh lowest in the satellite record (Figure 1a). This monthly average extent was 840,000 square kilometers (324,000 square miles) above the satellite record low set in 2012 (Figure 1b). Sea ice extent was far below average around most of the Arctic Ocean, with substantial open water particularly in the Beaufort, Chukchi, and East Siberian Seas. The Beaufort and Chukchi Seas experienced rapid change over the month. In early August, the ice edge in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas was near average, just off the north coast of Alaska. Then, during the first week of August, an open water region developed north of Utqiaġvik at about 75° N latitude. The open water region rapidly expanded, eventually becoming a large embayment in the ice edge. By the end of August, much of the ice in the Beaufort Sea had melted out. On the Atlantic side, relatively low sea ice concentrations were the rule, extending all the way to the pole (Figure 1c). 

Arctic sea ice extent for August 2026
graph shows Arctic sea ice extent as of September 2, 2026, along with daily ice extent data for four previous years and the record low year

Figure 1a. Arctic sea ice extent for August 2026 was 5.56 million square kilometers (2.15 million square miles). The magenta line shows the 1981 to 2010 average extent for that month. Sea Ice Index data. About the data — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Figure 1b. This graph shows Arctic sea ice extent as of September 2, 2026, along with daily ice extent data for four previous years and the record low year. 2026 is shown in blue, 2025 in green, 2024 in orange, 2023 in brown, 2022 in magenta, and 2012 in dashed brown. The 1981 to 2010 median is in dark gray. The gray areas around the median line show the interquartile and interdecile ranges of the data. Sea Ice Index data. — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

low sea ice concentration near the North Pole on August 31, 2026,
Figure 1c. This True Color Composite satellite image shows low sea ice concentration from Svalbard (lower right) toward the North Pole on August 31, 2026. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument on the NASA Terra satellite captured this image. — Credit: NASA Worldview

Conditions in context

In spring and early summer, low pressure and relatively cool weather persisted over the Arctic Ocean. Average temperatures from May through July at the 925 millibar level (about 2,500 feet above the surface) were up to 2 degrees Celsius (4 degrees Fahrenheit) below the 1981 to 2026 average (Figure 2a). Persistent cold-cored cyclones kept temperatures low, resulting in a pronounced low pressure cell centered over the pole in the three-months average (Figure 2b). Cloudy conditions led to less solar insolation at the surface. This, combined with low temperature, led to late melt onset in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas (Figure 2c) (Evident in preliminary data derived from passive microwave sensors, provided by Angela Bliss at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center). Melt began nearly a month later than the 1981 to 2010 average in the southern Chukchi Sea. On the Atlantic side, melt onset was earlier than average or near average. These strong regional contrasts guided the early summer progression of ice loss.

departure from average air temperature in the Arctic
average sea level pressure in the Arctic in millibars for April 2025

Figure 2a. This plot shows the departure from average air temperature in the Arctic at the 925 hectopascal, in degrees Celsius, for May through July 2026, relative to the 1981 to 2010 average. Yellows to reds indicate above average temperatures; greens to purples indicate below average temperatures. Based on data set ERA5 (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Reanalysis 5), DOI: 10.24381/cds.adbb2d47. — Credit: NSIDC courtesy NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory Physical Sciences Laboratory

Figure 2b. This plot shows average sea level pressure in the Arctic in hectopascal for May through July 2026. Yellows to reds indicate higher air pressure; greens to purples indicate lower pressure. Based on data set ERA5 (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Reanalysis 5), DOI: 10.24381/cds.adbb2d47. — Credit: NSIDC courtesy NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory Physical Sciences Laboratory

onset of sea ice melt as a difference from average, measured in days
Figure 2c. The map on the left shows the onset of sea ice melt in the Arctic as a difference from the 1991 to 2020 average, measured in days. Yellow indicates where no melt has been detected. The graph on the left depicts the average onset of Arctic melt from 1979 to 2026, with the dashed red line noting the negative trend. — Credit: Angela Bliss, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

August 2026 compared to previous years

The downward linear trend in Arctic sea ice extent through 2026 for August is 69,100 square kilometers (26,700 square miles) per year or 9.6 percent per decade relative to the 1981 to 2010 average (Figure 3). Based on the linear trend, since 1979, August has lost 3.24 million square kilometers (1.25 million square miles) of sea ice. This is equivalent to about two times the size of Alaska. 

Monthly August ice extent for 1979 to 2026 shows a decline of 9.6 percent per decade.
Figure 3. Monthly August ice extent for 1979 to 2026 shows a decline of 9.6 percent per decade. — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Ship report from the pole

NSIDC scientist Matt Shupe and other researchers cruised to the pole on the Swedish icebreaker Oden, leaving Svalbard on August 10. Shupe noted the large amount of open water en-route seen in the satellite imagery: “[There was] a remarkable amount of open water, vast expanses sometimes large enough that I could not see the other side of them. These areas of open water extended pretty much the whole way to the pole." He also noted the absence of melt ponds, in contrast to recent years. Despite the open water, he noted that melt ponds had frozen over and were covered by snow (Figure 4). Data and reports from ships and field observations provide valuable detailed information and local context that complements satellite data. 

Ice floes spread vastly amid large areas of newly forming ice
Figure 4. Ice floes spread vastly amid large areas of newly forming ice that were ice free through much of the summer. This photograph, taken from Icebreaker Oden at about 83°N latitude, captures an Arctic sunset on August 29. — Credit: Matthew Shupe, National Snow and Ice Data Center

Sea ice down south

In the Antarctic, sea ice is expanding and will reach its annual maximum extent in the coming weeks. This year, extent has been below the 1981 to 2010 average, as has been the case nearly every month since late 2016; however, it has been above the record low levels of 2023 and 2024. The August average extent was 16.46 million square kilometer (6.36 million square miles), 1.26 million square kilometers (486,000 square miles) below the 1981 to 2010 average. Earlier in the year, as late as May, ice extent was extremely low in the Bellingshausen Sea. This area has now largely recovered, but the adjacent Amundsen Sea has low sea ice extent, along with much of the East Antarctic region. 

The most notable feature of the austral growth season was a substantial decline in extent over a period of a week in early August. From August 8 to August 14, extent declined 310,000 square kilometers (120,000 square miles). Pauses in growth and short periods of decline are not unusual because of shifting weather patterns that can melt ice near the edge and/or push the ice edge poleward. This is especially true as the sea ice edge reaches the stormy northern latitudes of the Southern Ocean.

Antarctic sea ice extent for August 2026
Antarctic sea ice extent as of September 2, 2026, along with daily ice extent data for four previous years and 2014, the record high year.

Figure 5a. Antarctic sea ice extent for August 2026 was 16.46 million square kilometers (6.36 million square miles). The magenta line shows the 1981 to 2010 average extent for that month. Sea Ice Index data. About the data — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Figure 5b. This graph shows Antarctic sea ice extent as of September 2, 2026, along with daily ice extent data for four previous years and 2014, the record high year. 2026 is shown in blue, 2025 in green, 2024 n orange, 2023 in brown, 2022 in magenta, and 2014 in dashed brown. The 1981 to 2010 median is in dark gray. The gray areas around the median line show the interquartile and interdecile ranges of the data. Sea Ice Index data. — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Greenland Ice Sheet

While the other analysis site Ice Sheets Today remains in hiatus, we will include some updates from other sources as we receive them. The Greenland melt season has not been exceptional, but overall melt is similar to 2011 and 2016. The surface mass balance, calculated by the total snow and rainfall minus runoff and evaporation, stands at about -150 billion tons. Low snowfall last winter in several key exposed surface areas led to rapid runoff beginning in mid-July as the previous winter’s snow cover melted off. A few warm events spanned the southern dome of Greenland, but the more central Summit area did not see temperatures exceed -3 degrees Celsius (27 degrees Fahrenheit). 

surface mass balance for the Greenland Ice Sheet as a difference from the 1981 to 2010 average for September 2025 to August 2026,
Figure 6. This graph shows the surface mass balance for the Greenland Ice Sheet as a difference from the 1981 to 2010 average for September 2025 to August 2026, and several other recent seasons. The values are derived from the MAR 3.14.2 climate model based on weather data and physics. The gray band shows the 90 percent range of values over the entire model record. — Credit: X. Fettweis, University of Liège, MAR 3.14.2 model

Acknowledgement

We gratefully acknowledge new funding from the Climate Science and Communications Fund. The Fund represents a collaborative group of donors and scientists dedicated to supporting climate scientists and communicators and is administered by Surge Climate Talent. The views expressed in these analysis posts are those of the NSIDC science team and do not necessarily reflect the views of Surge Climate Talent.

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September 17th, 2025 13:00:00 EDT -0400 2025 Arctic sea ice minimum squeezes into the ten lowest minimums
Arctic zigs; Antarctic zags

Greetings, readers! Our monthly sea ice analyses are returning just in time for the September equinox. In the Arctic, the sea ice extent this summer was tracking 2012 levels until August. While Siberia and the Canadian Archipelago experienced a very warm summer, the high-latitude Arctic Ocean was relatively cool. In the Antarctic, sea ice underwent an unusually large mid-winter decline over a week in August. 

Overview of conditions

Arctic sea ice extent for August 2026 averaged 5.56 million square kilometers (2.15 million square miles), the seventh lowest in the satellite record (Figure 1a). This monthly average extent was 840,000 square kilometers (324,000 square miles) above the satellite record low set in 2012 (Figure 1b). Sea ice extent was far below average around most of the Arctic Ocean, with substantial open water particularly in the Beaufort, Chukchi, and East Siberian Seas. The Beaufort and Chukchi Seas experienced rapid change over the month. In early August, the ice edge in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas was near average, just off the north coast of Alaska. Then, during the first week of August, an open water region developed north of Utqiaġvik at about 75° N latitude. The open water region rapidly expanded, eventually becoming a large embayment in the ice edge. By the end of August, much of the ice in the Beaufort Sea had melted out. On the Atlantic side, relatively low sea ice concentrations were the rule, extending all the way to the pole (Figure 1c). 

Arctic sea ice extent for August 2026
graph shows Arctic sea ice extent as of September 2, 2026, along with daily ice extent data for four previous years and the record low year

Figure 1a. Arctic sea ice extent for August 2026 was 5.56 million square kilometers (2.15 million square miles). The magenta line shows the 1981 to 2010 average extent for that month. Sea Ice Index data. About the data — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Figure 1b. This graph shows Arctic sea ice extent as of September 2, 2026, along with daily ice extent data for four previous years and the record low year. 2026 is shown in blue, 2025 in green, 2024 in orange, 2023 in brown, 2022 in magenta, and 2012 in dashed brown. The 1981 to 2010 median is in dark gray. The gray areas around the median line show the interquartile and interdecile ranges of the data. Sea Ice Index data. — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

low sea ice concentration near the North Pole on August 31, 2026,
Figure 1c. This True Color Composite satellite image shows low sea ice concentration from Svalbard (lower right) toward the North Pole on August 31, 2026. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument on the NASA Terra satellite captured this image. — Credit: NASA Worldview

Conditions in context

In spring and early summer, low pressure and relatively cool weather persisted over the Arctic Ocean. Average temperatures from May through July at the 925 millibar level (about 2,500 feet above the surface) were up to 2 degrees Celsius (4 degrees Fahrenheit) below the 1981 to 2026 average (Figure 2a). Persistent cold-cored cyclones kept temperatures low, resulting in a pronounced low pressure cell centered over the pole in the three-months average (Figure 2b). Cloudy conditions led to less solar insolation at the surface. This, combined with low temperature, led to late melt onset in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas (Figure 2c) (Evident in preliminary data derived from passive microwave sensors, provided by Angela Bliss at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center). Melt began nearly a month later than the 1981 to 2010 average in the southern Chukchi Sea. On the Atlantic side, melt onset was earlier than average or near average. These strong regional contrasts guided the early summer progression of ice loss.

departure from average air temperature in the Arctic
average sea level pressure in the Arctic in millibars for April 2025

Figure 2a. This plot shows the departure from average air temperature in the Arctic at the 925 hectopascal, in degrees Celsius, for May through July 2026, relative to the 1981 to 2010 average. Yellows to reds indicate above average temperatures; greens to purples indicate below average temperatures. Based on data set ERA5 (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Reanalysis 5), DOI: 10.24381/cds.adbb2d47. — Credit: NSIDC courtesy NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory Physical Sciences Laboratory

Figure 2b. This plot shows average sea level pressure in the Arctic in hectopascal for May through July 2026. Yellows to reds indicate higher air pressure; greens to purples indicate lower pressure. Based on data set ERA5 (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Reanalysis 5), DOI: 10.24381/cds.adbb2d47. — Credit: NSIDC courtesy NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory Physical Sciences Laboratory

onset of sea ice melt as a difference from average, measured in days
Figure 2c. The map on the left shows the onset of sea ice melt in the Arctic as a difference from the 1991 to 2020 average, measured in days. Yellow indicates where no melt has been detected. The graph on the left depicts the average onset of Arctic melt from 1979 to 2026, with the dashed red line noting the negative trend. — Credit: Angela Bliss, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

August 2026 compared to previous years

The downward linear trend in Arctic sea ice extent through 2026 for August is 69,100 square kilometers (26,700 square miles) per year or 9.6 percent per decade relative to the 1981 to 2010 average (Figure 3). Based on the linear trend, since 1979, August has lost 3.24 million square kilometers (1.25 million square miles) of sea ice. This is equivalent to about two times the size of Alaska. 

Monthly August ice extent for 1979 to 2026 shows a decline of 9.6 percent per decade.
Figure 3. Monthly August ice extent for 1979 to 2026 shows a decline of 9.6 percent per decade. — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Ship report from the pole

NSIDC scientist Matt Shupe and other researchers cruised to the pole on the Swedish icebreaker Oden, leaving Svalbard on August 10. Shupe noted the large amount of open water en-route seen in the satellite imagery: “[There was] a remarkable amount of open water, vast expanses sometimes large enough that I could not see the other side of them. These areas of open water extended pretty much the whole way to the pole." He also noted the absence of melt ponds, in contrast to recent years. Despite the open water, he noted that melt ponds had frozen over and were covered by snow (Figure 4). Data and reports from ships and field observations provide valuable detailed information and local context that complements satellite data. 

Ice floes spread vastly amid large areas of newly forming ice
Figure 4. Ice floes spread vastly amid large areas of newly forming ice that were ice free through much of the summer. This photograph, taken from Icebreaker Oden at about 83°N latitude, captures an Arctic sunset on August 29. — Credit: Matthew Shupe, National Snow and Ice Data Center

Sea ice down south

In the Antarctic, sea ice is expanding and will reach its annual maximum extent in the coming weeks. This year, extent has been below the 1981 to 2010 average, as has been the case nearly every month since late 2016; however, it has been above the record low levels of 2023 and 2024. The August average extent was 16.46 million square kilometer (6.36 million square miles), 1.26 million square kilometers (486,000 square miles) below the 1981 to 2010 average. Earlier in the year, as late as May, ice extent was extremely low in the Bellingshausen Sea. This area has now largely recovered, but the adjacent Amundsen Sea has low sea ice extent, along with much of the East Antarctic region. 

The most notable feature of the austral growth season was a substantial decline in extent over a period of a week in early August. From August 8 to August 14, extent declined 310,000 square kilometers (120,000 square miles). Pauses in growth and short periods of decline are not unusual because of shifting weather patterns that can melt ice near the edge and/or push the ice edge poleward. This is especially true as the sea ice edge reaches the stormy northern latitudes of the Southern Ocean.

Antarctic sea ice extent for August 2026
Antarctic sea ice extent as of September 2, 2026, along with daily ice extent data for four previous years and 2014, the record high year.

Figure 5a. Antarctic sea ice extent for August 2026 was 16.46 million square kilometers (6.36 million square miles). The magenta line shows the 1981 to 2010 average extent for that month. Sea Ice Index data. About the data — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Figure 5b. This graph shows Antarctic sea ice extent as of September 2, 2026, along with daily ice extent data for four previous years and 2014, the record high year. 2026 is shown in blue, 2025 in green, 2024 n orange, 2023 in brown, 2022 in magenta, and 2014 in dashed brown. The 1981 to 2010 median is in dark gray. The gray areas around the median line show the interquartile and interdecile ranges of the data. Sea Ice Index data. — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Greenland Ice Sheet

While the other analysis site Ice Sheets Today remains in hiatus, we will include some updates from other sources as we receive them. The Greenland melt season has not been exceptional, but overall melt is similar to 2011 and 2016. The surface mass balance, calculated by the total snow and rainfall minus runoff and evaporation, stands at about -150 billion tons. Low snowfall last winter in several key exposed surface areas led to rapid runoff beginning in mid-July as the previous winter’s snow cover melted off. A few warm events spanned the southern dome of Greenland, but the more central Summit area did not see temperatures exceed -3 degrees Celsius (27 degrees Fahrenheit). 

surface mass balance for the Greenland Ice Sheet as a difference from the 1981 to 2010 average for September 2025 to August 2026,
Figure 6. This graph shows the surface mass balance for the Greenland Ice Sheet as a difference from the 1981 to 2010 average for September 2025 to August 2026, and several other recent seasons. The values are derived from the MAR 3.14.2 climate model based on weather data and physics. The gray band shows the 90 percent range of values over the entire model record. — Credit: X. Fettweis, University of Liège, MAR 3.14.2 model

Acknowledgement

We gratefully acknowledge new funding from the Climate Science and Communications Fund. The Fund represents a collaborative group of donors and scientists dedicated to supporting climate scientists and communicators and is administered by Surge Climate Talent. The views expressed in these analysis posts are those of the NSIDC science team and do not necessarily reflect the views of Surge Climate Talent.

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September 10th, 2025 15:03:04 EDT -0400 Taking a bite out of the Beaufort
Arctic zigs; Antarctic zags

Greetings, readers! Our monthly sea ice analyses are returning just in time for the September equinox. In the Arctic, the sea ice extent this summer was tracking 2012 levels until August. While Siberia and the Canadian Archipelago experienced a very warm summer, the high-latitude Arctic Ocean was relatively cool. In the Antarctic, sea ice underwent an unusually large mid-winter decline over a week in August. 

Overview of conditions

Arctic sea ice extent for August 2026 averaged 5.56 million square kilometers (2.15 million square miles), the seventh lowest in the satellite record (Figure 1a). This monthly average extent was 840,000 square kilometers (324,000 square miles) above the satellite record low set in 2012 (Figure 1b). Sea ice extent was far below average around most of the Arctic Ocean, with substantial open water particularly in the Beaufort, Chukchi, and East Siberian Seas. The Beaufort and Chukchi Seas experienced rapid change over the month. In early August, the ice edge in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas was near average, just off the north coast of Alaska. Then, during the first week of August, an open water region developed north of Utqiaġvik at about 75° N latitude. The open water region rapidly expanded, eventually becoming a large embayment in the ice edge. By the end of August, much of the ice in the Beaufort Sea had melted out. On the Atlantic side, relatively low sea ice concentrations were the rule, extending all the way to the pole (Figure 1c). 

Arctic sea ice extent for August 2026
graph shows Arctic sea ice extent as of September 2, 2026, along with daily ice extent data for four previous years and the record low year

Figure 1a. Arctic sea ice extent for August 2026 was 5.56 million square kilometers (2.15 million square miles). The magenta line shows the 1981 to 2010 average extent for that month. Sea Ice Index data. About the data — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Figure 1b. This graph shows Arctic sea ice extent as of September 2, 2026, along with daily ice extent data for four previous years and the record low year. 2026 is shown in blue, 2025 in green, 2024 in orange, 2023 in brown, 2022 in magenta, and 2012 in dashed brown. The 1981 to 2010 median is in dark gray. The gray areas around the median line show the interquartile and interdecile ranges of the data. Sea Ice Index data. — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

low sea ice concentration near the North Pole on August 31, 2026,
Figure 1c. This True Color Composite satellite image shows low sea ice concentration from Svalbard (lower right) toward the North Pole on August 31, 2026. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument on the NASA Terra satellite captured this image. — Credit: NASA Worldview

Conditions in context

In spring and early summer, low pressure and relatively cool weather persisted over the Arctic Ocean. Average temperatures from May through July at the 925 millibar level (about 2,500 feet above the surface) were up to 2 degrees Celsius (4 degrees Fahrenheit) below the 1981 to 2026 average (Figure 2a). Persistent cold-cored cyclones kept temperatures low, resulting in a pronounced low pressure cell centered over the pole in the three-months average (Figure 2b). Cloudy conditions led to less solar insolation at the surface. This, combined with low temperature, led to late melt onset in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas (Figure 2c) (Evident in preliminary data derived from passive microwave sensors, provided by Angela Bliss at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center). Melt began nearly a month later than the 1981 to 2010 average in the southern Chukchi Sea. On the Atlantic side, melt onset was earlier than average or near average. These strong regional contrasts guided the early summer progression of ice loss.

departure from average air temperature in the Arctic
average sea level pressure in the Arctic in millibars for April 2025

Figure 2a. This plot shows the departure from average air temperature in the Arctic at the 925 hectopascal, in degrees Celsius, for May through July 2026, relative to the 1981 to 2010 average. Yellows to reds indicate above average temperatures; greens to purples indicate below average temperatures. Based on data set ERA5 (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Reanalysis 5), DOI: 10.24381/cds.adbb2d47. — Credit: NSIDC courtesy NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory Physical Sciences Laboratory

Figure 2b. This plot shows average sea level pressure in the Arctic in hectopascal for May through July 2026. Yellows to reds indicate higher air pressure; greens to purples indicate lower pressure. Based on data set ERA5 (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Reanalysis 5), DOI: 10.24381/cds.adbb2d47. — Credit: NSIDC courtesy NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory Physical Sciences Laboratory

onset of sea ice melt as a difference from average, measured in days
Figure 2c. The map on the left shows the onset of sea ice melt in the Arctic as a difference from the 1991 to 2020 average, measured in days. Yellow indicates where no melt has been detected. The graph on the left depicts the average onset of Arctic melt from 1979 to 2026, with the dashed red line noting the negative trend. — Credit: Angela Bliss, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

August 2026 compared to previous years

The downward linear trend in Arctic sea ice extent through 2026 for August is 69,100 square kilometers (26,700 square miles) per year or 9.6 percent per decade relative to the 1981 to 2010 average (Figure 3). Based on the linear trend, since 1979, August has lost 3.24 million square kilometers (1.25 million square miles) of sea ice. This is equivalent to about two times the size of Alaska. 

Monthly August ice extent for 1979 to 2026 shows a decline of 9.6 percent per decade.
Figure 3. Monthly August ice extent for 1979 to 2026 shows a decline of 9.6 percent per decade. — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Ship report from the pole

NSIDC scientist Matt Shupe and other researchers cruised to the pole on the Swedish icebreaker Oden, leaving Svalbard on August 10. Shupe noted the large amount of open water en-route seen in the satellite imagery: “[There was] a remarkable amount of open water, vast expanses sometimes large enough that I could not see the other side of them. These areas of open water extended pretty much the whole way to the pole." He also noted the absence of melt ponds, in contrast to recent years. Despite the open water, he noted that melt ponds had frozen over and were covered by snow (Figure 4). Data and reports from ships and field observations provide valuable detailed information and local context that complements satellite data. 

Ice floes spread vastly amid large areas of newly forming ice
Figure 4. Ice floes spread vastly amid large areas of newly forming ice that were ice free through much of the summer. This photograph, taken from Icebreaker Oden at about 83°N latitude, captures an Arctic sunset on August 29. — Credit: Matthew Shupe, National Snow and Ice Data Center

Sea ice down south

In the Antarctic, sea ice is expanding and will reach its annual maximum extent in the coming weeks. This year, extent has been below the 1981 to 2010 average, as has been the case nearly every month since late 2016; however, it has been above the record low levels of 2023 and 2024. The August average extent was 16.46 million square kilometer (6.36 million square miles), 1.26 million square kilometers (486,000 square miles) below the 1981 to 2010 average. Earlier in the year, as late as May, ice extent was extremely low in the Bellingshausen Sea. This area has now largely recovered, but the adjacent Amundsen Sea has low sea ice extent, along with much of the East Antarctic region. 

The most notable feature of the austral growth season was a substantial decline in extent over a period of a week in early August. From August 8 to August 14, extent declined 310,000 square kilometers (120,000 square miles). Pauses in growth and short periods of decline are not unusual because of shifting weather patterns that can melt ice near the edge and/or push the ice edge poleward. This is especially true as the sea ice edge reaches the stormy northern latitudes of the Southern Ocean.

Antarctic sea ice extent for August 2026
Antarctic sea ice extent as of September 2, 2026, along with daily ice extent data for four previous years and 2014, the record high year.

Figure 5a. Antarctic sea ice extent for August 2026 was 16.46 million square kilometers (6.36 million square miles). The magenta line shows the 1981 to 2010 average extent for that month. Sea Ice Index data. About the data — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Figure 5b. This graph shows Antarctic sea ice extent as of September 2, 2026, along with daily ice extent data for four previous years and 2014, the record high year. 2026 is shown in blue, 2025 in green, 2024 n orange, 2023 in brown, 2022 in magenta, and 2014 in dashed brown. The 1981 to 2010 median is in dark gray. The gray areas around the median line show the interquartile and interdecile ranges of the data. Sea Ice Index data. — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Greenland Ice Sheet

While the other analysis site Ice Sheets Today remains in hiatus, we will include some updates from other sources as we receive them. The Greenland melt season has not been exceptional, but overall melt is similar to 2011 and 2016. The surface mass balance, calculated by the total snow and rainfall minus runoff and evaporation, stands at about -150 billion tons. Low snowfall last winter in several key exposed surface areas led to rapid runoff beginning in mid-July as the previous winter’s snow cover melted off. A few warm events spanned the southern dome of Greenland, but the more central Summit area did not see temperatures exceed -3 degrees Celsius (27 degrees Fahrenheit). 

surface mass balance for the Greenland Ice Sheet as a difference from the 1981 to 2010 average for September 2025 to August 2026,
Figure 6. This graph shows the surface mass balance for the Greenland Ice Sheet as a difference from the 1981 to 2010 average for September 2025 to August 2026, and several other recent seasons. The values are derived from the MAR 3.14.2 climate model based on weather data and physics. The gray band shows the 90 percent range of values over the entire model record. — Credit: X. Fettweis, University of Liège, MAR 3.14.2 model

Acknowledgement

We gratefully acknowledge new funding from the Climate Science and Communications Fund. The Fund represents a collaborative group of donors and scientists dedicated to supporting climate scientists and communicators and is administered by Surge Climate Talent. The views expressed in these analysis posts are those of the NSIDC science team and do not necessarily reflect the views of Surge Climate Talent.

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August 7th, 2025 16:15:49 EDT -0400 The peak of summer, the depths of winter
Arctic zigs; Antarctic zags

Greetings, readers! Our monthly sea ice analyses are returning just in time for the September equinox. In the Arctic, the sea ice extent this summer was tracking 2012 levels until August. While Siberia and the Canadian Archipelago experienced a very warm summer, the high-latitude Arctic Ocean was relatively cool. In the Antarctic, sea ice underwent an unusually large mid-winter decline over a week in August. 

Overview of conditions

Arctic sea ice extent for August 2026 averaged 5.56 million square kilometers (2.15 million square miles), the seventh lowest in the satellite record (Figure 1a). This monthly average extent was 840,000 square kilometers (324,000 square miles) above the satellite record low set in 2012 (Figure 1b). Sea ice extent was far below average around most of the Arctic Ocean, with substantial open water particularly in the Beaufort, Chukchi, and East Siberian Seas. The Beaufort and Chukchi Seas experienced rapid change over the month. In early August, the ice edge in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas was near average, just off the north coast of Alaska. Then, during the first week of August, an open water region developed north of Utqiaġvik at about 75° N latitude. The open water region rapidly expanded, eventually becoming a large embayment in the ice edge. By the end of August, much of the ice in the Beaufort Sea had melted out. On the Atlantic side, relatively low sea ice concentrations were the rule, extending all the way to the pole (Figure 1c). 

Arctic sea ice extent for August 2026
graph shows Arctic sea ice extent as of September 2, 2026, along with daily ice extent data for four previous years and the record low year

Figure 1a. Arctic sea ice extent for August 2026 was 5.56 million square kilometers (2.15 million square miles). The magenta line shows the 1981 to 2010 average extent for that month. Sea Ice Index data. About the data — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Figure 1b. This graph shows Arctic sea ice extent as of September 2, 2026, along with daily ice extent data for four previous years and the record low year. 2026 is shown in blue, 2025 in green, 2024 in orange, 2023 in brown, 2022 in magenta, and 2012 in dashed brown. The 1981 to 2010 median is in dark gray. The gray areas around the median line show the interquartile and interdecile ranges of the data. Sea Ice Index data. — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

low sea ice concentration near the North Pole on August 31, 2026,
Figure 1c. This True Color Composite satellite image shows low sea ice concentration from Svalbard (lower right) toward the North Pole on August 31, 2026. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument on the NASA Terra satellite captured this image. — Credit: NASA Worldview

Conditions in context

In spring and early summer, low pressure and relatively cool weather persisted over the Arctic Ocean. Average temperatures from May through July at the 925 millibar level (about 2,500 feet above the surface) were up to 2 degrees Celsius (4 degrees Fahrenheit) below the 1981 to 2026 average (Figure 2a). Persistent cold-cored cyclones kept temperatures low, resulting in a pronounced low pressure cell centered over the pole in the three-months average (Figure 2b). Cloudy conditions led to less solar insolation at the surface. This, combined with low temperature, led to late melt onset in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas (Figure 2c) (Evident in preliminary data derived from passive microwave sensors, provided by Angela Bliss at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center). Melt began nearly a month later than the 1981 to 2010 average in the southern Chukchi Sea. On the Atlantic side, melt onset was earlier than average or near average. These strong regional contrasts guided the early summer progression of ice loss.

departure from average air temperature in the Arctic
average sea level pressure in the Arctic in millibars for April 2025

Figure 2a. This plot shows the departure from average air temperature in the Arctic at the 925 hectopascal, in degrees Celsius, for May through July 2026, relative to the 1981 to 2010 average. Yellows to reds indicate above average temperatures; greens to purples indicate below average temperatures. Based on data set ERA5 (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Reanalysis 5), DOI: 10.24381/cds.adbb2d47. — Credit: NSIDC courtesy NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory Physical Sciences Laboratory

Figure 2b. This plot shows average sea level pressure in the Arctic in hectopascal for May through July 2026. Yellows to reds indicate higher air pressure; greens to purples indicate lower pressure. Based on data set ERA5 (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Reanalysis 5), DOI: 10.24381/cds.adbb2d47. — Credit: NSIDC courtesy NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory Physical Sciences Laboratory

onset of sea ice melt as a difference from average, measured in days
Figure 2c. The map on the left shows the onset of sea ice melt in the Arctic as a difference from the 1991 to 2020 average, measured in days. Yellow indicates where no melt has been detected. The graph on the left depicts the average onset of Arctic melt from 1979 to 2026, with the dashed red line noting the negative trend. — Credit: Angela Bliss, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

August 2026 compared to previous years

The downward linear trend in Arctic sea ice extent through 2026 for August is 69,100 square kilometers (26,700 square miles) per year or 9.6 percent per decade relative to the 1981 to 2010 average (Figure 3). Based on the linear trend, since 1979, August has lost 3.24 million square kilometers (1.25 million square miles) of sea ice. This is equivalent to about two times the size of Alaska. 

Monthly August ice extent for 1979 to 2026 shows a decline of 9.6 percent per decade.
Figure 3. Monthly August ice extent for 1979 to 2026 shows a decline of 9.6 percent per decade. — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Ship report from the pole

NSIDC scientist Matt Shupe and other researchers cruised to the pole on the Swedish icebreaker Oden, leaving Svalbard on August 10. Shupe noted the large amount of open water en-route seen in the satellite imagery: “[There was] a remarkable amount of open water, vast expanses sometimes large enough that I could not see the other side of them. These areas of open water extended pretty much the whole way to the pole." He also noted the absence of melt ponds, in contrast to recent years. Despite the open water, he noted that melt ponds had frozen over and were covered by snow (Figure 4). Data and reports from ships and field observations provide valuable detailed information and local context that complements satellite data. 

Ice floes spread vastly amid large areas of newly forming ice
Figure 4. Ice floes spread vastly amid large areas of newly forming ice that were ice free through much of the summer. This photograph, taken from Icebreaker Oden at about 83°N latitude, captures an Arctic sunset on August 29. — Credit: Matthew Shupe, National Snow and Ice Data Center

Sea ice down south

In the Antarctic, sea ice is expanding and will reach its annual maximum extent in the coming weeks. This year, extent has been below the 1981 to 2010 average, as has been the case nearly every month since late 2016; however, it has been above the record low levels of 2023 and 2024. The August average extent was 16.46 million square kilometer (6.36 million square miles), 1.26 million square kilometers (486,000 square miles) below the 1981 to 2010 average. Earlier in the year, as late as May, ice extent was extremely low in the Bellingshausen Sea. This area has now largely recovered, but the adjacent Amundsen Sea has low sea ice extent, along with much of the East Antarctic region. 

The most notable feature of the austral growth season was a substantial decline in extent over a period of a week in early August. From August 8 to August 14, extent declined 310,000 square kilometers (120,000 square miles). Pauses in growth and short periods of decline are not unusual because of shifting weather patterns that can melt ice near the edge and/or push the ice edge poleward. This is especially true as the sea ice edge reaches the stormy northern latitudes of the Southern Ocean.

Antarctic sea ice extent for August 2026
Antarctic sea ice extent as of September 2, 2026, along with daily ice extent data for four previous years and 2014, the record high year.

Figure 5a. Antarctic sea ice extent for August 2026 was 16.46 million square kilometers (6.36 million square miles). The magenta line shows the 1981 to 2010 average extent for that month. Sea Ice Index data. About the data — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Figure 5b. This graph shows Antarctic sea ice extent as of September 2, 2026, along with daily ice extent data for four previous years and 2014, the record high year. 2026 is shown in blue, 2025 in green, 2024 n orange, 2023 in brown, 2022 in magenta, and 2014 in dashed brown. The 1981 to 2010 median is in dark gray. The gray areas around the median line show the interquartile and interdecile ranges of the data. Sea Ice Index data. — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Greenland Ice Sheet

While the other analysis site Ice Sheets Today remains in hiatus, we will include some updates from other sources as we receive them. The Greenland melt season has not been exceptional, but overall melt is similar to 2011 and 2016. The surface mass balance, calculated by the total snow and rainfall minus runoff and evaporation, stands at about -150 billion tons. Low snowfall last winter in several key exposed surface areas led to rapid runoff beginning in mid-July as the previous winter’s snow cover melted off. A few warm events spanned the southern dome of Greenland, but the more central Summit area did not see temperatures exceed -3 degrees Celsius (27 degrees Fahrenheit). 

surface mass balance for the Greenland Ice Sheet as a difference from the 1981 to 2010 average for September 2025 to August 2026,
Figure 6. This graph shows the surface mass balance for the Greenland Ice Sheet as a difference from the 1981 to 2010 average for September 2025 to August 2026, and several other recent seasons. The values are derived from the MAR 3.14.2 climate model based on weather data and physics. The gray band shows the 90 percent range of values over the entire model record. — Credit: X. Fettweis, University of Liège, MAR 3.14.2 model

Acknowledgement

We gratefully acknowledge new funding from the Climate Science and Communications Fund. The Fund represents a collaborative group of donors and scientists dedicated to supporting climate scientists and communicators and is administered by Surge Climate Talent. The views expressed in these analysis posts are those of the NSIDC science team and do not necessarily reflect the views of Surge Climate Talent.

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July 9th, 2025 14:01:54 EDT -0400 SSMIS sunsets AMSR2 rises
Arctic zigs; Antarctic zags

Greetings, readers! Our monthly sea ice analyses are returning just in time for the September equinox. In the Arctic, the sea ice extent this summer was tracking 2012 levels until August. While Siberia and the Canadian Archipelago experienced a very warm summer, the high-latitude Arctic Ocean was relatively cool. In the Antarctic, sea ice underwent an unusually large mid-winter decline over a week in August. 

Overview of conditions

Arctic sea ice extent for August 2026 averaged 5.56 million square kilometers (2.15 million square miles), the seventh lowest in the satellite record (Figure 1a). This monthly average extent was 840,000 square kilometers (324,000 square miles) above the satellite record low set in 2012 (Figure 1b). Sea ice extent was far below average around most of the Arctic Ocean, with substantial open water particularly in the Beaufort, Chukchi, and East Siberian Seas. The Beaufort and Chukchi Seas experienced rapid change over the month. In early August, the ice edge in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas was near average, just off the north coast of Alaska. Then, during the first week of August, an open water region developed north of Utqiaġvik at about 75° N latitude. The open water region rapidly expanded, eventually becoming a large embayment in the ice edge. By the end of August, much of the ice in the Beaufort Sea had melted out. On the Atlantic side, relatively low sea ice concentrations were the rule, extending all the way to the pole (Figure 1c). 

Arctic sea ice extent for August 2026
graph shows Arctic sea ice extent as of September 2, 2026, along with daily ice extent data for four previous years and the record low year

Figure 1a. Arctic sea ice extent for August 2026 was 5.56 million square kilometers (2.15 million square miles). The magenta line shows the 1981 to 2010 average extent for that month. Sea Ice Index data. About the data — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Figure 1b. This graph shows Arctic sea ice extent as of September 2, 2026, along with daily ice extent data for four previous years and the record low year. 2026 is shown in blue, 2025 in green, 2024 in orange, 2023 in brown, 2022 in magenta, and 2012 in dashed brown. The 1981 to 2010 median is in dark gray. The gray areas around the median line show the interquartile and interdecile ranges of the data. Sea Ice Index data. — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

low sea ice concentration near the North Pole on August 31, 2026,
Figure 1c. This True Color Composite satellite image shows low sea ice concentration from Svalbard (lower right) toward the North Pole on August 31, 2026. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument on the NASA Terra satellite captured this image. — Credit: NASA Worldview

Conditions in context

In spring and early summer, low pressure and relatively cool weather persisted over the Arctic Ocean. Average temperatures from May through July at the 925 millibar level (about 2,500 feet above the surface) were up to 2 degrees Celsius (4 degrees Fahrenheit) below the 1981 to 2026 average (Figure 2a). Persistent cold-cored cyclones kept temperatures low, resulting in a pronounced low pressure cell centered over the pole in the three-months average (Figure 2b). Cloudy conditions led to less solar insolation at the surface. This, combined with low temperature, led to late melt onset in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas (Figure 2c) (Evident in preliminary data derived from passive microwave sensors, provided by Angela Bliss at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center). Melt began nearly a month later than the 1981 to 2010 average in the southern Chukchi Sea. On the Atlantic side, melt onset was earlier than average or near average. These strong regional contrasts guided the early summer progression of ice loss.

departure from average air temperature in the Arctic
average sea level pressure in the Arctic in millibars for April 2025

Figure 2a. This plot shows the departure from average air temperature in the Arctic at the 925 hectopascal, in degrees Celsius, for May through July 2026, relative to the 1981 to 2010 average. Yellows to reds indicate above average temperatures; greens to purples indicate below average temperatures. Based on data set ERA5 (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Reanalysis 5), DOI: 10.24381/cds.adbb2d47. — Credit: NSIDC courtesy NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory Physical Sciences Laboratory

Figure 2b. This plot shows average sea level pressure in the Arctic in hectopascal for May through July 2026. Yellows to reds indicate higher air pressure; greens to purples indicate lower pressure. Based on data set ERA5 (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Reanalysis 5), DOI: 10.24381/cds.adbb2d47. — Credit: NSIDC courtesy NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory Physical Sciences Laboratory

onset of sea ice melt as a difference from average, measured in days
Figure 2c. The map on the left shows the onset of sea ice melt in the Arctic as a difference from the 1991 to 2020 average, measured in days. Yellow indicates where no melt has been detected. The graph on the left depicts the average onset of Arctic melt from 1979 to 2026, with the dashed red line noting the negative trend. — Credit: Angela Bliss, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

August 2026 compared to previous years

The downward linear trend in Arctic sea ice extent through 2026 for August is 69,100 square kilometers (26,700 square miles) per year or 9.6 percent per decade relative to the 1981 to 2010 average (Figure 3). Based on the linear trend, since 1979, August has lost 3.24 million square kilometers (1.25 million square miles) of sea ice. This is equivalent to about two times the size of Alaska. 

Monthly August ice extent for 1979 to 2026 shows a decline of 9.6 percent per decade.
Figure 3. Monthly August ice extent for 1979 to 2026 shows a decline of 9.6 percent per decade. — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Ship report from the pole

NSIDC scientist Matt Shupe and other researchers cruised to the pole on the Swedish icebreaker Oden, leaving Svalbard on August 10. Shupe noted the large amount of open water en-route seen in the satellite imagery: “[There was] a remarkable amount of open water, vast expanses sometimes large enough that I could not see the other side of them. These areas of open water extended pretty much the whole way to the pole." He also noted the absence of melt ponds, in contrast to recent years. Despite the open water, he noted that melt ponds had frozen over and were covered by snow (Figure 4). Data and reports from ships and field observations provide valuable detailed information and local context that complements satellite data. 

Ice floes spread vastly amid large areas of newly forming ice
Figure 4. Ice floes spread vastly amid large areas of newly forming ice that were ice free through much of the summer. This photograph, taken from Icebreaker Oden at about 83°N latitude, captures an Arctic sunset on August 29. — Credit: Matthew Shupe, National Snow and Ice Data Center

Sea ice down south

In the Antarctic, sea ice is expanding and will reach its annual maximum extent in the coming weeks. This year, extent has been below the 1981 to 2010 average, as has been the case nearly every month since late 2016; however, it has been above the record low levels of 2023 and 2024. The August average extent was 16.46 million square kilometer (6.36 million square miles), 1.26 million square kilometers (486,000 square miles) below the 1981 to 2010 average. Earlier in the year, as late as May, ice extent was extremely low in the Bellingshausen Sea. This area has now largely recovered, but the adjacent Amundsen Sea has low sea ice extent, along with much of the East Antarctic region. 

The most notable feature of the austral growth season was a substantial decline in extent over a period of a week in early August. From August 8 to August 14, extent declined 310,000 square kilometers (120,000 square miles). Pauses in growth and short periods of decline are not unusual because of shifting weather patterns that can melt ice near the edge and/or push the ice edge poleward. This is especially true as the sea ice edge reaches the stormy northern latitudes of the Southern Ocean.

Antarctic sea ice extent for August 2026
Antarctic sea ice extent as of September 2, 2026, along with daily ice extent data for four previous years and 2014, the record high year.

Figure 5a. Antarctic sea ice extent for August 2026 was 16.46 million square kilometers (6.36 million square miles). The magenta line shows the 1981 to 2010 average extent for that month. Sea Ice Index data. About the data — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Figure 5b. This graph shows Antarctic sea ice extent as of September 2, 2026, along with daily ice extent data for four previous years and 2014, the record high year. 2026 is shown in blue, 2025 in green, 2024 n orange, 2023 in brown, 2022 in magenta, and 2014 in dashed brown. The 1981 to 2010 median is in dark gray. The gray areas around the median line show the interquartile and interdecile ranges of the data. Sea Ice Index data. — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Greenland Ice Sheet

While the other analysis site Ice Sheets Today remains in hiatus, we will include some updates from other sources as we receive them. The Greenland melt season has not been exceptional, but overall melt is similar to 2011 and 2016. The surface mass balance, calculated by the total snow and rainfall minus runoff and evaporation, stands at about -150 billion tons. Low snowfall last winter in several key exposed surface areas led to rapid runoff beginning in mid-July as the previous winter’s snow cover melted off. A few warm events spanned the southern dome of Greenland, but the more central Summit area did not see temperatures exceed -3 degrees Celsius (27 degrees Fahrenheit). 

surface mass balance for the Greenland Ice Sheet as a difference from the 1981 to 2010 average for September 2025 to August 2026,
Figure 6. This graph shows the surface mass balance for the Greenland Ice Sheet as a difference from the 1981 to 2010 average for September 2025 to August 2026, and several other recent seasons. The values are derived from the MAR 3.14.2 climate model based on weather data and physics. The gray band shows the 90 percent range of values over the entire model record. — Credit: X. Fettweis, University of Liège, MAR 3.14.2 model

Acknowledgement

We gratefully acknowledge new funding from the Climate Science and Communications Fund. The Fund represents a collaborative group of donors and scientists dedicated to supporting climate scientists and communicators and is administered by Surge Climate Talent. The views expressed in these analysis posts are those of the NSIDC science team and do not necessarily reflect the views of Surge Climate Talent.

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June 3rd, 2025 13:56:34 EDT -0400 May sea ice…always grace our planet’s poles
Arctic zigs; Antarctic zags

Greetings, readers! Our monthly sea ice analyses are returning just in time for the September equinox. In the Arctic, the sea ice extent this summer was tracking 2012 levels until August. While Siberia and the Canadian Archipelago experienced a very warm summer, the high-latitude Arctic Ocean was relatively cool. In the Antarctic, sea ice underwent an unusually large mid-winter decline over a week in August. 

Overview of conditions

Arctic sea ice extent for August 2026 averaged 5.56 million square kilometers (2.15 million square miles), the seventh lowest in the satellite record (Figure 1a). This monthly average extent was 840,000 square kilometers (324,000 square miles) above the satellite record low set in 2012 (Figure 1b). Sea ice extent was far below average around most of the Arctic Ocean, with substantial open water particularly in the Beaufort, Chukchi, and East Siberian Seas. The Beaufort and Chukchi Seas experienced rapid change over the month. In early August, the ice edge in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas was near average, just off the north coast of Alaska. Then, during the first week of August, an open water region developed north of Utqiaġvik at about 75° N latitude. The open water region rapidly expanded, eventually becoming a large embayment in the ice edge. By the end of August, much of the ice in the Beaufort Sea had melted out. On the Atlantic side, relatively low sea ice concentrations were the rule, extending all the way to the pole (Figure 1c). 

Arctic sea ice extent for August 2026
graph shows Arctic sea ice extent as of September 2, 2026, along with daily ice extent data for four previous years and the record low year

Figure 1a. Arctic sea ice extent for August 2026 was 5.56 million square kilometers (2.15 million square miles). The magenta line shows the 1981 to 2010 average extent for that month. Sea Ice Index data. About the data — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Figure 1b. This graph shows Arctic sea ice extent as of September 2, 2026, along with daily ice extent data for four previous years and the record low year. 2026 is shown in blue, 2025 in green, 2024 in orange, 2023 in brown, 2022 in magenta, and 2012 in dashed brown. The 1981 to 2010 median is in dark gray. The gray areas around the median line show the interquartile and interdecile ranges of the data. Sea Ice Index data. — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

low sea ice concentration near the North Pole on August 31, 2026,
Figure 1c. This True Color Composite satellite image shows low sea ice concentration from Svalbard (lower right) toward the North Pole on August 31, 2026. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument on the NASA Terra satellite captured this image. — Credit: NASA Worldview

Conditions in context

In spring and early summer, low pressure and relatively cool weather persisted over the Arctic Ocean. Average temperatures from May through July at the 925 millibar level (about 2,500 feet above the surface) were up to 2 degrees Celsius (4 degrees Fahrenheit) below the 1981 to 2026 average (Figure 2a). Persistent cold-cored cyclones kept temperatures low, resulting in a pronounced low pressure cell centered over the pole in the three-months average (Figure 2b). Cloudy conditions led to less solar insolation at the surface. This, combined with low temperature, led to late melt onset in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas (Figure 2c) (Evident in preliminary data derived from passive microwave sensors, provided by Angela Bliss at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center). Melt began nearly a month later than the 1981 to 2010 average in the southern Chukchi Sea. On the Atlantic side, melt onset was earlier than average or near average. These strong regional contrasts guided the early summer progression of ice loss.

departure from average air temperature in the Arctic
average sea level pressure in the Arctic in millibars for April 2025

Figure 2a. This plot shows the departure from average air temperature in the Arctic at the 925 hectopascal, in degrees Celsius, for May through July 2026, relative to the 1981 to 2010 average. Yellows to reds indicate above average temperatures; greens to purples indicate below average temperatures. Based on data set ERA5 (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Reanalysis 5), DOI: 10.24381/cds.adbb2d47. — Credit: NSIDC courtesy NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory Physical Sciences Laboratory

Figure 2b. This plot shows average sea level pressure in the Arctic in hectopascal for May through July 2026. Yellows to reds indicate higher air pressure; greens to purples indicate lower pressure. Based on data set ERA5 (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Reanalysis 5), DOI: 10.24381/cds.adbb2d47. — Credit: NSIDC courtesy NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory Physical Sciences Laboratory

onset of sea ice melt as a difference from average, measured in days
Figure 2c. The map on the left shows the onset of sea ice melt in the Arctic as a difference from the 1991 to 2020 average, measured in days. Yellow indicates where no melt has been detected. The graph on the left depicts the average onset of Arctic melt from 1979 to 2026, with the dashed red line noting the negative trend. — Credit: Angela Bliss, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

August 2026 compared to previous years

The downward linear trend in Arctic sea ice extent through 2026 for August is 69,100 square kilometers (26,700 square miles) per year or 9.6 percent per decade relative to the 1981 to 2010 average (Figure 3). Based on the linear trend, since 1979, August has lost 3.24 million square kilometers (1.25 million square miles) of sea ice. This is equivalent to about two times the size of Alaska. 

Monthly August ice extent for 1979 to 2026 shows a decline of 9.6 percent per decade.
Figure 3. Monthly August ice extent for 1979 to 2026 shows a decline of 9.6 percent per decade. — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Ship report from the pole

NSIDC scientist Matt Shupe and other researchers cruised to the pole on the Swedish icebreaker Oden, leaving Svalbard on August 10. Shupe noted the large amount of open water en-route seen in the satellite imagery: “[There was] a remarkable amount of open water, vast expanses sometimes large enough that I could not see the other side of them. These areas of open water extended pretty much the whole way to the pole." He also noted the absence of melt ponds, in contrast to recent years. Despite the open water, he noted that melt ponds had frozen over and were covered by snow (Figure 4). Data and reports from ships and field observations provide valuable detailed information and local context that complements satellite data. 

Ice floes spread vastly amid large areas of newly forming ice
Figure 4. Ice floes spread vastly amid large areas of newly forming ice that were ice free through much of the summer. This photograph, taken from Icebreaker Oden at about 83°N latitude, captures an Arctic sunset on August 29. — Credit: Matthew Shupe, National Snow and Ice Data Center

Sea ice down south

In the Antarctic, sea ice is expanding and will reach its annual maximum extent in the coming weeks. This year, extent has been below the 1981 to 2010 average, as has been the case nearly every month since late 2016; however, it has been above the record low levels of 2023 and 2024. The August average extent was 16.46 million square kilometer (6.36 million square miles), 1.26 million square kilometers (486,000 square miles) below the 1981 to 2010 average. Earlier in the year, as late as May, ice extent was extremely low in the Bellingshausen Sea. This area has now largely recovered, but the adjacent Amundsen Sea has low sea ice extent, along with much of the East Antarctic region. 

The most notable feature of the austral growth season was a substantial decline in extent over a period of a week in early August. From August 8 to August 14, extent declined 310,000 square kilometers (120,000 square miles). Pauses in growth and short periods of decline are not unusual because of shifting weather patterns that can melt ice near the edge and/or push the ice edge poleward. This is especially true as the sea ice edge reaches the stormy northern latitudes of the Southern Ocean.

Antarctic sea ice extent for August 2026
Antarctic sea ice extent as of September 2, 2026, along with daily ice extent data for four previous years and 2014, the record high year.

Figure 5a. Antarctic sea ice extent for August 2026 was 16.46 million square kilometers (6.36 million square miles). The magenta line shows the 1981 to 2010 average extent for that month. Sea Ice Index data. About the data — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Figure 5b. This graph shows Antarctic sea ice extent as of September 2, 2026, along with daily ice extent data for four previous years and 2014, the record high year. 2026 is shown in blue, 2025 in green, 2024 n orange, 2023 in brown, 2022 in magenta, and 2014 in dashed brown. The 1981 to 2010 median is in dark gray. The gray areas around the median line show the interquartile and interdecile ranges of the data. Sea Ice Index data. — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Greenland Ice Sheet

While the other analysis site Ice Sheets Today remains in hiatus, we will include some updates from other sources as we receive them. The Greenland melt season has not been exceptional, but overall melt is similar to 2011 and 2016. The surface mass balance, calculated by the total snow and rainfall minus runoff and evaporation, stands at about -150 billion tons. Low snowfall last winter in several key exposed surface areas led to rapid runoff beginning in mid-July as the previous winter’s snow cover melted off. A few warm events spanned the southern dome of Greenland, but the more central Summit area did not see temperatures exceed -3 degrees Celsius (27 degrees Fahrenheit). 

surface mass balance for the Greenland Ice Sheet as a difference from the 1981 to 2010 average for September 2025 to August 2026,
Figure 6. This graph shows the surface mass balance for the Greenland Ice Sheet as a difference from the 1981 to 2010 average for September 2025 to August 2026, and several other recent seasons. The values are derived from the MAR 3.14.2 climate model based on weather data and physics. The gray band shows the 90 percent range of values over the entire model record. — Credit: X. Fettweis, University of Liège, MAR 3.14.2 model

Acknowledgement

We gratefully acknowledge new funding from the Climate Science and Communications Fund. The Fund represents a collaborative group of donors and scientists dedicated to supporting climate scientists and communicators and is administered by Surge Climate Talent. The views expressed in these analysis posts are those of the NSIDC science team and do not necessarily reflect the views of Surge Climate Talent.

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May 6th, 2025 19:45:14 EDT -0400 April falls flat
Arctic zigs; Antarctic zags

Greetings, readers! Our monthly sea ice analyses are returning just in time for the September equinox. In the Arctic, the sea ice extent this summer was tracking 2012 levels until August. While Siberia and the Canadian Archipelago experienced a very warm summer, the high-latitude Arctic Ocean was relatively cool. In the Antarctic, sea ice underwent an unusually large mid-winter decline over a week in August. 

Overview of conditions

Arctic sea ice extent for August 2026 averaged 5.56 million square kilometers (2.15 million square miles), the seventh lowest in the satellite record (Figure 1a). This monthly average extent was 840,000 square kilometers (324,000 square miles) above the satellite record low set in 2012 (Figure 1b). Sea ice extent was far below average around most of the Arctic Ocean, with substantial open water particularly in the Beaufort, Chukchi, and East Siberian Seas. The Beaufort and Chukchi Seas experienced rapid change over the month. In early August, the ice edge in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas was near average, just off the north coast of Alaska. Then, during the first week of August, an open water region developed north of Utqiaġvik at about 75° N latitude. The open water region rapidly expanded, eventually becoming a large embayment in the ice edge. By the end of August, much of the ice in the Beaufort Sea had melted out. On the Atlantic side, relatively low sea ice concentrations were the rule, extending all the way to the pole (Figure 1c). 

Arctic sea ice extent for August 2026
graph shows Arctic sea ice extent as of September 2, 2026, along with daily ice extent data for four previous years and the record low year

Figure 1a. Arctic sea ice extent for August 2026 was 5.56 million square kilometers (2.15 million square miles). The magenta line shows the 1981 to 2010 average extent for that month. Sea Ice Index data. About the data — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Figure 1b. This graph shows Arctic sea ice extent as of September 2, 2026, along with daily ice extent data for four previous years and the record low year. 2026 is shown in blue, 2025 in green, 2024 in orange, 2023 in brown, 2022 in magenta, and 2012 in dashed brown. The 1981 to 2010 median is in dark gray. The gray areas around the median line show the interquartile and interdecile ranges of the data. Sea Ice Index data. — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

low sea ice concentration near the North Pole on August 31, 2026,
Figure 1c. This True Color Composite satellite image shows low sea ice concentration from Svalbard (lower right) toward the North Pole on August 31, 2026. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument on the NASA Terra satellite captured this image. — Credit: NASA Worldview

Conditions in context

In spring and early summer, low pressure and relatively cool weather persisted over the Arctic Ocean. Average temperatures from May through July at the 925 millibar level (about 2,500 feet above the surface) were up to 2 degrees Celsius (4 degrees Fahrenheit) below the 1981 to 2026 average (Figure 2a). Persistent cold-cored cyclones kept temperatures low, resulting in a pronounced low pressure cell centered over the pole in the three-months average (Figure 2b). Cloudy conditions led to less solar insolation at the surface. This, combined with low temperature, led to late melt onset in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas (Figure 2c) (Evident in preliminary data derived from passive microwave sensors, provided by Angela Bliss at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center). Melt began nearly a month later than the 1981 to 2010 average in the southern Chukchi Sea. On the Atlantic side, melt onset was earlier than average or near average. These strong regional contrasts guided the early summer progression of ice loss.

departure from average air temperature in the Arctic
average sea level pressure in the Arctic in millibars for April 2025

Figure 2a. This plot shows the departure from average air temperature in the Arctic at the 925 hectopascal, in degrees Celsius, for May through July 2026, relative to the 1981 to 2010 average. Yellows to reds indicate above average temperatures; greens to purples indicate below average temperatures. Based on data set ERA5 (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Reanalysis 5), DOI: 10.24381/cds.adbb2d47. — Credit: NSIDC courtesy NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory Physical Sciences Laboratory

Figure 2b. This plot shows average sea level pressure in the Arctic in hectopascal for May through July 2026. Yellows to reds indicate higher air pressure; greens to purples indicate lower pressure. Based on data set ERA5 (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Reanalysis 5), DOI: 10.24381/cds.adbb2d47. — Credit: NSIDC courtesy NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory Physical Sciences Laboratory

onset of sea ice melt as a difference from average, measured in days
Figure 2c. The map on the left shows the onset of sea ice melt in the Arctic as a difference from the 1991 to 2020 average, measured in days. Yellow indicates where no melt has been detected. The graph on the left depicts the average onset of Arctic melt from 1979 to 2026, with the dashed red line noting the negative trend. — Credit: Angela Bliss, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

August 2026 compared to previous years

The downward linear trend in Arctic sea ice extent through 2026 for August is 69,100 square kilometers (26,700 square miles) per year or 9.6 percent per decade relative to the 1981 to 2010 average (Figure 3). Based on the linear trend, since 1979, August has lost 3.24 million square kilometers (1.25 million square miles) of sea ice. This is equivalent to about two times the size of Alaska. 

Monthly August ice extent for 1979 to 2026 shows a decline of 9.6 percent per decade.
Figure 3. Monthly August ice extent for 1979 to 2026 shows a decline of 9.6 percent per decade. — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Ship report from the pole

NSIDC scientist Matt Shupe and other researchers cruised to the pole on the Swedish icebreaker Oden, leaving Svalbard on August 10. Shupe noted the large amount of open water en-route seen in the satellite imagery: “[There was] a remarkable amount of open water, vast expanses sometimes large enough that I could not see the other side of them. These areas of open water extended pretty much the whole way to the pole." He also noted the absence of melt ponds, in contrast to recent years. Despite the open water, he noted that melt ponds had frozen over and were covered by snow (Figure 4). Data and reports from ships and field observations provide valuable detailed information and local context that complements satellite data. 

Ice floes spread vastly amid large areas of newly forming ice
Figure 4. Ice floes spread vastly amid large areas of newly forming ice that were ice free through much of the summer. This photograph, taken from Icebreaker Oden at about 83°N latitude, captures an Arctic sunset on August 29. — Credit: Matthew Shupe, National Snow and Ice Data Center

Sea ice down south

In the Antarctic, sea ice is expanding and will reach its annual maximum extent in the coming weeks. This year, extent has been below the 1981 to 2010 average, as has been the case nearly every month since late 2016; however, it has been above the record low levels of 2023 and 2024. The August average extent was 16.46 million square kilometer (6.36 million square miles), 1.26 million square kilometers (486,000 square miles) below the 1981 to 2010 average. Earlier in the year, as late as May, ice extent was extremely low in the Bellingshausen Sea. This area has now largely recovered, but the adjacent Amundsen Sea has low sea ice extent, along with much of the East Antarctic region. 

The most notable feature of the austral growth season was a substantial decline in extent over a period of a week in early August. From August 8 to August 14, extent declined 310,000 square kilometers (120,000 square miles). Pauses in growth and short periods of decline are not unusual because of shifting weather patterns that can melt ice near the edge and/or push the ice edge poleward. This is especially true as the sea ice edge reaches the stormy northern latitudes of the Southern Ocean.

Antarctic sea ice extent for August 2026
Antarctic sea ice extent as of September 2, 2026, along with daily ice extent data for four previous years and 2014, the record high year.

Figure 5a. Antarctic sea ice extent for August 2026 was 16.46 million square kilometers (6.36 million square miles). The magenta line shows the 1981 to 2010 average extent for that month. Sea Ice Index data. About the data — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Figure 5b. This graph shows Antarctic sea ice extent as of September 2, 2026, along with daily ice extent data for four previous years and 2014, the record high year. 2026 is shown in blue, 2025 in green, 2024 n orange, 2023 in brown, 2022 in magenta, and 2014 in dashed brown. The 1981 to 2010 median is in dark gray. The gray areas around the median line show the interquartile and interdecile ranges of the data. Sea Ice Index data. — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Greenland Ice Sheet

While the other analysis site Ice Sheets Today remains in hiatus, we will include some updates from other sources as we receive them. The Greenland melt season has not been exceptional, but overall melt is similar to 2011 and 2016. The surface mass balance, calculated by the total snow and rainfall minus runoff and evaporation, stands at about -150 billion tons. Low snowfall last winter in several key exposed surface areas led to rapid runoff beginning in mid-July as the previous winter’s snow cover melted off. A few warm events spanned the southern dome of Greenland, but the more central Summit area did not see temperatures exceed -3 degrees Celsius (27 degrees Fahrenheit). 

surface mass balance for the Greenland Ice Sheet as a difference from the 1981 to 2010 average for September 2025 to August 2026,
Figure 6. This graph shows the surface mass balance for the Greenland Ice Sheet as a difference from the 1981 to 2010 average for September 2025 to August 2026, and several other recent seasons. The values are derived from the MAR 3.14.2 climate model based on weather data and physics. The gray band shows the 90 percent range of values over the entire model record. — Credit: X. Fettweis, University of Liège, MAR 3.14.2 model

Acknowledgement

We gratefully acknowledge new funding from the Climate Science and Communications Fund. The Fund represents a collaborative group of donors and scientists dedicated to supporting climate scientists and communicators and is administered by Surge Climate Talent. The views expressed in these analysis posts are those of the NSIDC science team and do not necessarily reflect the views of Surge Climate Talent.

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April 3rd, 2025 13:46:39 EDT -0400 Spring is in the air
Arctic zigs; Antarctic zags

Greetings, readers! Our monthly sea ice analyses are returning just in time for the September equinox. In the Arctic, the sea ice extent this summer was tracking 2012 levels until August. While Siberia and the Canadian Archipelago experienced a very warm summer, the high-latitude Arctic Ocean was relatively cool. In the Antarctic, sea ice underwent an unusually large mid-winter decline over a week in August. 

Overview of conditions

Arctic sea ice extent for August 2026 averaged 5.56 million square kilometers (2.15 million square miles), the seventh lowest in the satellite record (Figure 1a). This monthly average extent was 840,000 square kilometers (324,000 square miles) above the satellite record low set in 2012 (Figure 1b). Sea ice extent was far below average around most of the Arctic Ocean, with substantial open water particularly in the Beaufort, Chukchi, and East Siberian Seas. The Beaufort and Chukchi Seas experienced rapid change over the month. In early August, the ice edge in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas was near average, just off the north coast of Alaska. Then, during the first week of August, an open water region developed north of Utqiaġvik at about 75° N latitude. The open water region rapidly expanded, eventually becoming a large embayment in the ice edge. By the end of August, much of the ice in the Beaufort Sea had melted out. On the Atlantic side, relatively low sea ice concentrations were the rule, extending all the way to the pole (Figure 1c). 

Arctic sea ice extent for August 2026
graph shows Arctic sea ice extent as of September 2, 2026, along with daily ice extent data for four previous years and the record low year

Figure 1a. Arctic sea ice extent for August 2026 was 5.56 million square kilometers (2.15 million square miles). The magenta line shows the 1981 to 2010 average extent for that month. Sea Ice Index data. About the data — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Figure 1b. This graph shows Arctic sea ice extent as of September 2, 2026, along with daily ice extent data for four previous years and the record low year. 2026 is shown in blue, 2025 in green, 2024 in orange, 2023 in brown, 2022 in magenta, and 2012 in dashed brown. The 1981 to 2010 median is in dark gray. The gray areas around the median line show the interquartile and interdecile ranges of the data. Sea Ice Index data. — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

low sea ice concentration near the North Pole on August 31, 2026,
Figure 1c. This True Color Composite satellite image shows low sea ice concentration from Svalbard (lower right) toward the North Pole on August 31, 2026. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument on the NASA Terra satellite captured this image. — Credit: NASA Worldview

Conditions in context

In spring and early summer, low pressure and relatively cool weather persisted over the Arctic Ocean. Average temperatures from May through July at the 925 millibar level (about 2,500 feet above the surface) were up to 2 degrees Celsius (4 degrees Fahrenheit) below the 1981 to 2026 average (Figure 2a). Persistent cold-cored cyclones kept temperatures low, resulting in a pronounced low pressure cell centered over the pole in the three-months average (Figure 2b). Cloudy conditions led to less solar insolation at the surface. This, combined with low temperature, led to late melt onset in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas (Figure 2c) (Evident in preliminary data derived from passive microwave sensors, provided by Angela Bliss at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center). Melt began nearly a month later than the 1981 to 2010 average in the southern Chukchi Sea. On the Atlantic side, melt onset was earlier than average or near average. These strong regional contrasts guided the early summer progression of ice loss.

departure from average air temperature in the Arctic
average sea level pressure in the Arctic in millibars for April 2025

Figure 2a. This plot shows the departure from average air temperature in the Arctic at the 925 hectopascal, in degrees Celsius, for May through July 2026, relative to the 1981 to 2010 average. Yellows to reds indicate above average temperatures; greens to purples indicate below average temperatures. Based on data set ERA5 (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Reanalysis 5), DOI: 10.24381/cds.adbb2d47. — Credit: NSIDC courtesy NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory Physical Sciences Laboratory

Figure 2b. This plot shows average sea level pressure in the Arctic in hectopascal for May through July 2026. Yellows to reds indicate higher air pressure; greens to purples indicate lower pressure. Based on data set ERA5 (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Reanalysis 5), DOI: 10.24381/cds.adbb2d47. — Credit: NSIDC courtesy NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory Physical Sciences Laboratory

onset of sea ice melt as a difference from average, measured in days
Figure 2c. The map on the left shows the onset of sea ice melt in the Arctic as a difference from the 1991 to 2020 average, measured in days. Yellow indicates where no melt has been detected. The graph on the left depicts the average onset of Arctic melt from 1979 to 2026, with the dashed red line noting the negative trend. — Credit: Angela Bliss, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

August 2026 compared to previous years

The downward linear trend in Arctic sea ice extent through 2026 for August is 69,100 square kilometers (26,700 square miles) per year or 9.6 percent per decade relative to the 1981 to 2010 average (Figure 3). Based on the linear trend, since 1979, August has lost 3.24 million square kilometers (1.25 million square miles) of sea ice. This is equivalent to about two times the size of Alaska. 

Monthly August ice extent for 1979 to 2026 shows a decline of 9.6 percent per decade.
Figure 3. Monthly August ice extent for 1979 to 2026 shows a decline of 9.6 percent per decade. — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Ship report from the pole

NSIDC scientist Matt Shupe and other researchers cruised to the pole on the Swedish icebreaker Oden, leaving Svalbard on August 10. Shupe noted the large amount of open water en-route seen in the satellite imagery: “[There was] a remarkable amount of open water, vast expanses sometimes large enough that I could not see the other side of them. These areas of open water extended pretty much the whole way to the pole." He also noted the absence of melt ponds, in contrast to recent years. Despite the open water, he noted that melt ponds had frozen over and were covered by snow (Figure 4). Data and reports from ships and field observations provide valuable detailed information and local context that complements satellite data. 

Ice floes spread vastly amid large areas of newly forming ice
Figure 4. Ice floes spread vastly amid large areas of newly forming ice that were ice free through much of the summer. This photograph, taken from Icebreaker Oden at about 83°N latitude, captures an Arctic sunset on August 29. — Credit: Matthew Shupe, National Snow and Ice Data Center

Sea ice down south

In the Antarctic, sea ice is expanding and will reach its annual maximum extent in the coming weeks. This year, extent has been below the 1981 to 2010 average, as has been the case nearly every month since late 2016; however, it has been above the record low levels of 2023 and 2024. The August average extent was 16.46 million square kilometer (6.36 million square miles), 1.26 million square kilometers (486,000 square miles) below the 1981 to 2010 average. Earlier in the year, as late as May, ice extent was extremely low in the Bellingshausen Sea. This area has now largely recovered, but the adjacent Amundsen Sea has low sea ice extent, along with much of the East Antarctic region. 

The most notable feature of the austral growth season was a substantial decline in extent over a period of a week in early August. From August 8 to August 14, extent declined 310,000 square kilometers (120,000 square miles). Pauses in growth and short periods of decline are not unusual because of shifting weather patterns that can melt ice near the edge and/or push the ice edge poleward. This is especially true as the sea ice edge reaches the stormy northern latitudes of the Southern Ocean.

Antarctic sea ice extent for August 2026
Antarctic sea ice extent as of September 2, 2026, along with daily ice extent data for four previous years and 2014, the record high year.

Figure 5a. Antarctic sea ice extent for August 2026 was 16.46 million square kilometers (6.36 million square miles). The magenta line shows the 1981 to 2010 average extent for that month. Sea Ice Index data. About the data — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Figure 5b. This graph shows Antarctic sea ice extent as of September 2, 2026, along with daily ice extent data for four previous years and 2014, the record high year. 2026 is shown in blue, 2025 in green, 2024 n orange, 2023 in brown, 2022 in magenta, and 2014 in dashed brown. The 1981 to 2010 median is in dark gray. The gray areas around the median line show the interquartile and interdecile ranges of the data. Sea Ice Index data. — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Greenland Ice Sheet

While the other analysis site Ice Sheets Today remains in hiatus, we will include some updates from other sources as we receive them. The Greenland melt season has not been exceptional, but overall melt is similar to 2011 and 2016. The surface mass balance, calculated by the total snow and rainfall minus runoff and evaporation, stands at about -150 billion tons. Low snowfall last winter in several key exposed surface areas led to rapid runoff beginning in mid-July as the previous winter’s snow cover melted off. A few warm events spanned the southern dome of Greenland, but the more central Summit area did not see temperatures exceed -3 degrees Celsius (27 degrees Fahrenheit). 

surface mass balance for the Greenland Ice Sheet as a difference from the 1981 to 2010 average for September 2025 to August 2026,
Figure 6. This graph shows the surface mass balance for the Greenland Ice Sheet as a difference from the 1981 to 2010 average for September 2025 to August 2026, and several other recent seasons. The values are derived from the MAR 3.14.2 climate model based on weather data and physics. The gray band shows the 90 percent range of values over the entire model record. — Credit: X. Fettweis, University of Liège, MAR 3.14.2 model

Acknowledgement

We gratefully acknowledge new funding from the Climate Science and Communications Fund. The Fund represents a collaborative group of donors and scientists dedicated to supporting climate scientists and communicators and is administered by Surge Climate Talent. The views expressed in these analysis posts are those of the NSIDC science team and do not necessarily reflect the views of Surge Climate Talent.

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March 24th, 2025 13:32:45 EDT -0400 Arctic sea ice sets a record low maximum in 2025
Arctic zigs; Antarctic zags

Greetings, readers! Our monthly sea ice analyses are returning just in time for the September equinox. In the Arctic, the sea ice extent this summer was tracking 2012 levels until August. While Siberia and the Canadian Archipelago experienced a very warm summer, the high-latitude Arctic Ocean was relatively cool. In the Antarctic, sea ice underwent an unusually large mid-winter decline over a week in August. 

Overview of conditions

Arctic sea ice extent for August 2026 averaged 5.56 million square kilometers (2.15 million square miles), the seventh lowest in the satellite record (Figure 1a). This monthly average extent was 840,000 square kilometers (324,000 square miles) above the satellite record low set in 2012 (Figure 1b). Sea ice extent was far below average around most of the Arctic Ocean, with substantial open water particularly in the Beaufort, Chukchi, and East Siberian Seas. The Beaufort and Chukchi Seas experienced rapid change over the month. In early August, the ice edge in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas was near average, just off the north coast of Alaska. Then, during the first week of August, an open water region developed north of Utqiaġvik at about 75° N latitude. The open water region rapidly expanded, eventually becoming a large embayment in the ice edge. By the end of August, much of the ice in the Beaufort Sea had melted out. On the Atlantic side, relatively low sea ice concentrations were the rule, extending all the way to the pole (Figure 1c). 

Arctic sea ice extent for August 2026
graph shows Arctic sea ice extent as of September 2, 2026, along with daily ice extent data for four previous years and the record low year

Figure 1a. Arctic sea ice extent for August 2026 was 5.56 million square kilometers (2.15 million square miles). The magenta line shows the 1981 to 2010 average extent for that month. Sea Ice Index data. About the data — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Figure 1b. This graph shows Arctic sea ice extent as of September 2, 2026, along with daily ice extent data for four previous years and the record low year. 2026 is shown in blue, 2025 in green, 2024 in orange, 2023 in brown, 2022 in magenta, and 2012 in dashed brown. The 1981 to 2010 median is in dark gray. The gray areas around the median line show the interquartile and interdecile ranges of the data. Sea Ice Index data. — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

low sea ice concentration near the North Pole on August 31, 2026,
Figure 1c. This True Color Composite satellite image shows low sea ice concentration from Svalbard (lower right) toward the North Pole on August 31, 2026. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument on the NASA Terra satellite captured this image. — Credit: NASA Worldview

Conditions in context

In spring and early summer, low pressure and relatively cool weather persisted over the Arctic Ocean. Average temperatures from May through July at the 925 millibar level (about 2,500 feet above the surface) were up to 2 degrees Celsius (4 degrees Fahrenheit) below the 1981 to 2026 average (Figure 2a). Persistent cold-cored cyclones kept temperatures low, resulting in a pronounced low pressure cell centered over the pole in the three-months average (Figure 2b). Cloudy conditions led to less solar insolation at the surface. This, combined with low temperature, led to late melt onset in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas (Figure 2c) (Evident in preliminary data derived from passive microwave sensors, provided by Angela Bliss at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center). Melt began nearly a month later than the 1981 to 2010 average in the southern Chukchi Sea. On the Atlantic side, melt onset was earlier than average or near average. These strong regional contrasts guided the early summer progression of ice loss.

departure from average air temperature in the Arctic
average sea level pressure in the Arctic in millibars for April 2025

Figure 2a. This plot shows the departure from average air temperature in the Arctic at the 925 hectopascal, in degrees Celsius, for May through July 2026, relative to the 1981 to 2010 average. Yellows to reds indicate above average temperatures; greens to purples indicate below average temperatures. Based on data set ERA5 (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Reanalysis 5), DOI: 10.24381/cds.adbb2d47. — Credit: NSIDC courtesy NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory Physical Sciences Laboratory

Figure 2b. This plot shows average sea level pressure in the Arctic in hectopascal for May through July 2026. Yellows to reds indicate higher air pressure; greens to purples indicate lower pressure. Based on data set ERA5 (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Reanalysis 5), DOI: 10.24381/cds.adbb2d47. — Credit: NSIDC courtesy NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory Physical Sciences Laboratory

onset of sea ice melt as a difference from average, measured in days
Figure 2c. The map on the left shows the onset of sea ice melt in the Arctic as a difference from the 1991 to 2020 average, measured in days. Yellow indicates where no melt has been detected. The graph on the left depicts the average onset of Arctic melt from 1979 to 2026, with the dashed red line noting the negative trend. — Credit: Angela Bliss, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

August 2026 compared to previous years

The downward linear trend in Arctic sea ice extent through 2026 for August is 69,100 square kilometers (26,700 square miles) per year or 9.6 percent per decade relative to the 1981 to 2010 average (Figure 3). Based on the linear trend, since 1979, August has lost 3.24 million square kilometers (1.25 million square miles) of sea ice. This is equivalent to about two times the size of Alaska. 

Monthly August ice extent for 1979 to 2026 shows a decline of 9.6 percent per decade.
Figure 3. Monthly August ice extent for 1979 to 2026 shows a decline of 9.6 percent per decade. — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Ship report from the pole

NSIDC scientist Matt Shupe and other researchers cruised to the pole on the Swedish icebreaker Oden, leaving Svalbard on August 10. Shupe noted the large amount of open water en-route seen in the satellite imagery: “[There was] a remarkable amount of open water, vast expanses sometimes large enough that I could not see the other side of them. These areas of open water extended pretty much the whole way to the pole." He also noted the absence of melt ponds, in contrast to recent years. Despite the open water, he noted that melt ponds had frozen over and were covered by snow (Figure 4). Data and reports from ships and field observations provide valuable detailed information and local context that complements satellite data. 

Ice floes spread vastly amid large areas of newly forming ice
Figure 4. Ice floes spread vastly amid large areas of newly forming ice that were ice free through much of the summer. This photograph, taken from Icebreaker Oden at about 83°N latitude, captures an Arctic sunset on August 29. — Credit: Matthew Shupe, National Snow and Ice Data Center

Sea ice down south

In the Antarctic, sea ice is expanding and will reach its annual maximum extent in the coming weeks. This year, extent has been below the 1981 to 2010 average, as has been the case nearly every month since late 2016; however, it has been above the record low levels of 2023 and 2024. The August average extent was 16.46 million square kilometer (6.36 million square miles), 1.26 million square kilometers (486,000 square miles) below the 1981 to 2010 average. Earlier in the year, as late as May, ice extent was extremely low in the Bellingshausen Sea. This area has now largely recovered, but the adjacent Amundsen Sea has low sea ice extent, along with much of the East Antarctic region. 

The most notable feature of the austral growth season was a substantial decline in extent over a period of a week in early August. From August 8 to August 14, extent declined 310,000 square kilometers (120,000 square miles). Pauses in growth and short periods of decline are not unusual because of shifting weather patterns that can melt ice near the edge and/or push the ice edge poleward. This is especially true as the sea ice edge reaches the stormy northern latitudes of the Southern Ocean.

Antarctic sea ice extent for August 2026
Antarctic sea ice extent as of September 2, 2026, along with daily ice extent data for four previous years and 2014, the record high year.

Figure 5a. Antarctic sea ice extent for August 2026 was 16.46 million square kilometers (6.36 million square miles). The magenta line shows the 1981 to 2010 average extent for that month. Sea Ice Index data. About the data — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Figure 5b. This graph shows Antarctic sea ice extent as of September 2, 2026, along with daily ice extent data for four previous years and 2014, the record high year. 2026 is shown in blue, 2025 in green, 2024 n orange, 2023 in brown, 2022 in magenta, and 2014 in dashed brown. The 1981 to 2010 median is in dark gray. The gray areas around the median line show the interquartile and interdecile ranges of the data. Sea Ice Index data. — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Greenland Ice Sheet

While the other analysis site Ice Sheets Today remains in hiatus, we will include some updates from other sources as we receive them. The Greenland melt season has not been exceptional, but overall melt is similar to 2011 and 2016. The surface mass balance, calculated by the total snow and rainfall minus runoff and evaporation, stands at about -150 billion tons. Low snowfall last winter in several key exposed surface areas led to rapid runoff beginning in mid-July as the previous winter’s snow cover melted off. A few warm events spanned the southern dome of Greenland, but the more central Summit area did not see temperatures exceed -3 degrees Celsius (27 degrees Fahrenheit). 

surface mass balance for the Greenland Ice Sheet as a difference from the 1981 to 2010 average for September 2025 to August 2026,
Figure 6. This graph shows the surface mass balance for the Greenland Ice Sheet as a difference from the 1981 to 2010 average for September 2025 to August 2026, and several other recent seasons. The values are derived from the MAR 3.14.2 climate model based on weather data and physics. The gray band shows the 90 percent range of values over the entire model record. — Credit: X. Fettweis, University of Liège, MAR 3.14.2 model

Acknowledgement

We gratefully acknowledge new funding from the Climate Science and Communications Fund. The Fund represents a collaborative group of donors and scientists dedicated to supporting climate scientists and communicators and is administered by Surge Climate Talent. The views expressed in these analysis posts are those of the NSIDC science team and do not necessarily reflect the views of Surge Climate Talent.

agnieszka.gaut…
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Sea ice
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March 6th, 2025 10:25:24 EST -0500 Antarctic sea ice minimum hits a near-record low, again
Arctic zigs; Antarctic zags

Greetings, readers! Our monthly sea ice analyses are returning just in time for the September equinox. In the Arctic, the sea ice extent this summer was tracking 2012 levels until August. While Siberia and the Canadian Archipelago experienced a very warm summer, the high-latitude Arctic Ocean was relatively cool. In the Antarctic, sea ice underwent an unusually large mid-winter decline over a week in August. 

Overview of conditions

Arctic sea ice extent for August 2026 averaged 5.56 million square kilometers (2.15 million square miles), the seventh lowest in the satellite record (Figure 1a). This monthly average extent was 840,000 square kilometers (324,000 square miles) above the satellite record low set in 2012 (Figure 1b). Sea ice extent was far below average around most of the Arctic Ocean, with substantial open water particularly in the Beaufort, Chukchi, and East Siberian Seas. The Beaufort and Chukchi Seas experienced rapid change over the month. In early August, the ice edge in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas was near average, just off the north coast of Alaska. Then, during the first week of August, an open water region developed north of Utqiaġvik at about 75° N latitude. The open water region rapidly expanded, eventually becoming a large embayment in the ice edge. By the end of August, much of the ice in the Beaufort Sea had melted out. On the Atlantic side, relatively low sea ice concentrations were the rule, extending all the way to the pole (Figure 1c). 

Arctic sea ice extent for August 2026
graph shows Arctic sea ice extent as of September 2, 2026, along with daily ice extent data for four previous years and the record low year

Figure 1a. Arctic sea ice extent for August 2026 was 5.56 million square kilometers (2.15 million square miles). The magenta line shows the 1981 to 2010 average extent for that month. Sea Ice Index data. About the data — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Figure 1b. This graph shows Arctic sea ice extent as of September 2, 2026, along with daily ice extent data for four previous years and the record low year. 2026 is shown in blue, 2025 in green, 2024 in orange, 2023 in brown, 2022 in magenta, and 2012 in dashed brown. The 1981 to 2010 median is in dark gray. The gray areas around the median line show the interquartile and interdecile ranges of the data. Sea Ice Index data. — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

low sea ice concentration near the North Pole on August 31, 2026,
Figure 1c. This True Color Composite satellite image shows low sea ice concentration from Svalbard (lower right) toward the North Pole on August 31, 2026. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument on the NASA Terra satellite captured this image. — Credit: NASA Worldview

Conditions in context

In spring and early summer, low pressure and relatively cool weather persisted over the Arctic Ocean. Average temperatures from May through July at the 925 millibar level (about 2,500 feet above the surface) were up to 2 degrees Celsius (4 degrees Fahrenheit) below the 1981 to 2026 average (Figure 2a). Persistent cold-cored cyclones kept temperatures low, resulting in a pronounced low pressure cell centered over the pole in the three-months average (Figure 2b). Cloudy conditions led to less solar insolation at the surface. This, combined with low temperature, led to late melt onset in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas (Figure 2c) (Evident in preliminary data derived from passive microwave sensors, provided by Angela Bliss at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center). Melt began nearly a month later than the 1981 to 2010 average in the southern Chukchi Sea. On the Atlantic side, melt onset was earlier than average or near average. These strong regional contrasts guided the early summer progression of ice loss.

departure from average air temperature in the Arctic
average sea level pressure in the Arctic in millibars for April 2025

Figure 2a. This plot shows the departure from average air temperature in the Arctic at the 925 hectopascal, in degrees Celsius, for May through July 2026, relative to the 1981 to 2010 average. Yellows to reds indicate above average temperatures; greens to purples indicate below average temperatures. Based on data set ERA5 (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Reanalysis 5), DOI: 10.24381/cds.adbb2d47. — Credit: NSIDC courtesy NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory Physical Sciences Laboratory

Figure 2b. This plot shows average sea level pressure in the Arctic in hectopascal for May through July 2026. Yellows to reds indicate higher air pressure; greens to purples indicate lower pressure. Based on data set ERA5 (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Reanalysis 5), DOI: 10.24381/cds.adbb2d47. — Credit: NSIDC courtesy NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory Physical Sciences Laboratory

onset of sea ice melt as a difference from average, measured in days
Figure 2c. The map on the left shows the onset of sea ice melt in the Arctic as a difference from the 1991 to 2020 average, measured in days. Yellow indicates where no melt has been detected. The graph on the left depicts the average onset of Arctic melt from 1979 to 2026, with the dashed red line noting the negative trend. — Credit: Angela Bliss, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

August 2026 compared to previous years

The downward linear trend in Arctic sea ice extent through 2026 for August is 69,100 square kilometers (26,700 square miles) per year or 9.6 percent per decade relative to the 1981 to 2010 average (Figure 3). Based on the linear trend, since 1979, August has lost 3.24 million square kilometers (1.25 million square miles) of sea ice. This is equivalent to about two times the size of Alaska. 

Monthly August ice extent for 1979 to 2026 shows a decline of 9.6 percent per decade.
Figure 3. Monthly August ice extent for 1979 to 2026 shows a decline of 9.6 percent per decade. — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Ship report from the pole

NSIDC scientist Matt Shupe and other researchers cruised to the pole on the Swedish icebreaker Oden, leaving Svalbard on August 10. Shupe noted the large amount of open water en-route seen in the satellite imagery: “[There was] a remarkable amount of open water, vast expanses sometimes large enough that I could not see the other side of them. These areas of open water extended pretty much the whole way to the pole." He also noted the absence of melt ponds, in contrast to recent years. Despite the open water, he noted that melt ponds had frozen over and were covered by snow (Figure 4). Data and reports from ships and field observations provide valuable detailed information and local context that complements satellite data. 

Ice floes spread vastly amid large areas of newly forming ice
Figure 4. Ice floes spread vastly amid large areas of newly forming ice that were ice free through much of the summer. This photograph, taken from Icebreaker Oden at about 83°N latitude, captures an Arctic sunset on August 29. — Credit: Matthew Shupe, National Snow and Ice Data Center

Sea ice down south

In the Antarctic, sea ice is expanding and will reach its annual maximum extent in the coming weeks. This year, extent has been below the 1981 to 2010 average, as has been the case nearly every month since late 2016; however, it has been above the record low levels of 2023 and 2024. The August average extent was 16.46 million square kilometer (6.36 million square miles), 1.26 million square kilometers (486,000 square miles) below the 1981 to 2010 average. Earlier in the year, as late as May, ice extent was extremely low in the Bellingshausen Sea. This area has now largely recovered, but the adjacent Amundsen Sea has low sea ice extent, along with much of the East Antarctic region. 

The most notable feature of the austral growth season was a substantial decline in extent over a period of a week in early August. From August 8 to August 14, extent declined 310,000 square kilometers (120,000 square miles). Pauses in growth and short periods of decline are not unusual because of shifting weather patterns that can melt ice near the edge and/or push the ice edge poleward. This is especially true as the sea ice edge reaches the stormy northern latitudes of the Southern Ocean.

Antarctic sea ice extent for August 2026
Antarctic sea ice extent as of September 2, 2026, along with daily ice extent data for four previous years and 2014, the record high year.

Figure 5a. Antarctic sea ice extent for August 2026 was 16.46 million square kilometers (6.36 million square miles). The magenta line shows the 1981 to 2010 average extent for that month. Sea Ice Index data. About the data — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Figure 5b. This graph shows Antarctic sea ice extent as of September 2, 2026, along with daily ice extent data for four previous years and 2014, the record high year. 2026 is shown in blue, 2025 in green, 2024 n orange, 2023 in brown, 2022 in magenta, and 2014 in dashed brown. The 1981 to 2010 median is in dark gray. The gray areas around the median line show the interquartile and interdecile ranges of the data. Sea Ice Index data. — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Greenland Ice Sheet

While the other analysis site Ice Sheets Today remains in hiatus, we will include some updates from other sources as we receive them. The Greenland melt season has not been exceptional, but overall melt is similar to 2011 and 2016. The surface mass balance, calculated by the total snow and rainfall minus runoff and evaporation, stands at about -150 billion tons. Low snowfall last winter in several key exposed surface areas led to rapid runoff beginning in mid-July as the previous winter’s snow cover melted off. A few warm events spanned the southern dome of Greenland, but the more central Summit area did not see temperatures exceed -3 degrees Celsius (27 degrees Fahrenheit). 

surface mass balance for the Greenland Ice Sheet as a difference from the 1981 to 2010 average for September 2025 to August 2026,
Figure 6. This graph shows the surface mass balance for the Greenland Ice Sheet as a difference from the 1981 to 2010 average for September 2025 to August 2026, and several other recent seasons. The values are derived from the MAR 3.14.2 climate model based on weather data and physics. The gray band shows the 90 percent range of values over the entire model record. — Credit: X. Fettweis, University of Liège, MAR 3.14.2 model

Acknowledgement

We gratefully acknowledge new funding from the Climate Science and Communications Fund. The Fund represents a collaborative group of donors and scientists dedicated to supporting climate scientists and communicators and is administered by Surge Climate Talent. The views expressed in these analysis posts are those of the NSIDC science team and do not necessarily reflect the views of Surge Climate Talent.

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March 4th, 2025 15:36:06 EST -0500 February made me shiver (but not the Arctic)
Arctic zigs; Antarctic zags

Greetings, readers! Our monthly sea ice analyses are returning just in time for the September equinox. In the Arctic, the sea ice extent this summer was tracking 2012 levels until August. While Siberia and the Canadian Archipelago experienced a very warm summer, the high-latitude Arctic Ocean was relatively cool. In the Antarctic, sea ice underwent an unusually large mid-winter decline over a week in August. 

Overview of conditions

Arctic sea ice extent for August 2026 averaged 5.56 million square kilometers (2.15 million square miles), the seventh lowest in the satellite record (Figure 1a). This monthly average extent was 840,000 square kilometers (324,000 square miles) above the satellite record low set in 2012 (Figure 1b). Sea ice extent was far below average around most of the Arctic Ocean, with substantial open water particularly in the Beaufort, Chukchi, and East Siberian Seas. The Beaufort and Chukchi Seas experienced rapid change over the month. In early August, the ice edge in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas was near average, just off the north coast of Alaska. Then, during the first week of August, an open water region developed north of Utqiaġvik at about 75° N latitude. The open water region rapidly expanded, eventually becoming a large embayment in the ice edge. By the end of August, much of the ice in the Beaufort Sea had melted out. On the Atlantic side, relatively low sea ice concentrations were the rule, extending all the way to the pole (Figure 1c). 

Arctic sea ice extent for August 2026
graph shows Arctic sea ice extent as of September 2, 2026, along with daily ice extent data for four previous years and the record low year

Figure 1a. Arctic sea ice extent for August 2026 was 5.56 million square kilometers (2.15 million square miles). The magenta line shows the 1981 to 2010 average extent for that month. Sea Ice Index data. About the data — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Figure 1b. This graph shows Arctic sea ice extent as of September 2, 2026, along with daily ice extent data for four previous years and the record low year. 2026 is shown in blue, 2025 in green, 2024 in orange, 2023 in brown, 2022 in magenta, and 2012 in dashed brown. The 1981 to 2010 median is in dark gray. The gray areas around the median line show the interquartile and interdecile ranges of the data. Sea Ice Index data. — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

low sea ice concentration near the North Pole on August 31, 2026,
Figure 1c. This True Color Composite satellite image shows low sea ice concentration from Svalbard (lower right) toward the North Pole on August 31, 2026. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument on the NASA Terra satellite captured this image. — Credit: NASA Worldview

Conditions in context

In spring and early summer, low pressure and relatively cool weather persisted over the Arctic Ocean. Average temperatures from May through July at the 925 millibar level (about 2,500 feet above the surface) were up to 2 degrees Celsius (4 degrees Fahrenheit) below the 1981 to 2026 average (Figure 2a). Persistent cold-cored cyclones kept temperatures low, resulting in a pronounced low pressure cell centered over the pole in the three-months average (Figure 2b). Cloudy conditions led to less solar insolation at the surface. This, combined with low temperature, led to late melt onset in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas (Figure 2c) (Evident in preliminary data derived from passive microwave sensors, provided by Angela Bliss at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center). Melt began nearly a month later than the 1981 to 2010 average in the southern Chukchi Sea. On the Atlantic side, melt onset was earlier than average or near average. These strong regional contrasts guided the early summer progression of ice loss.

departure from average air temperature in the Arctic
average sea level pressure in the Arctic in millibars for April 2025

Figure 2a. This plot shows the departure from average air temperature in the Arctic at the 925 hectopascal, in degrees Celsius, for May through July 2026, relative to the 1981 to 2010 average. Yellows to reds indicate above average temperatures; greens to purples indicate below average temperatures. Based on data set ERA5 (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Reanalysis 5), DOI: 10.24381/cds.adbb2d47. — Credit: NSIDC courtesy NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory Physical Sciences Laboratory

Figure 2b. This plot shows average sea level pressure in the Arctic in hectopascal for May through July 2026. Yellows to reds indicate higher air pressure; greens to purples indicate lower pressure. Based on data set ERA5 (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Reanalysis 5), DOI: 10.24381/cds.adbb2d47. — Credit: NSIDC courtesy NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory Physical Sciences Laboratory

onset of sea ice melt as a difference from average, measured in days
Figure 2c. The map on the left shows the onset of sea ice melt in the Arctic as a difference from the 1991 to 2020 average, measured in days. Yellow indicates where no melt has been detected. The graph on the left depicts the average onset of Arctic melt from 1979 to 2026, with the dashed red line noting the negative trend. — Credit: Angela Bliss, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

August 2026 compared to previous years

The downward linear trend in Arctic sea ice extent through 2026 for August is 69,100 square kilometers (26,700 square miles) per year or 9.6 percent per decade relative to the 1981 to 2010 average (Figure 3). Based on the linear trend, since 1979, August has lost 3.24 million square kilometers (1.25 million square miles) of sea ice. This is equivalent to about two times the size of Alaska. 

Monthly August ice extent for 1979 to 2026 shows a decline of 9.6 percent per decade.
Figure 3. Monthly August ice extent for 1979 to 2026 shows a decline of 9.6 percent per decade. — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Ship report from the pole

NSIDC scientist Matt Shupe and other researchers cruised to the pole on the Swedish icebreaker Oden, leaving Svalbard on August 10. Shupe noted the large amount of open water en-route seen in the satellite imagery: “[There was] a remarkable amount of open water, vast expanses sometimes large enough that I could not see the other side of them. These areas of open water extended pretty much the whole way to the pole." He also noted the absence of melt ponds, in contrast to recent years. Despite the open water, he noted that melt ponds had frozen over and were covered by snow (Figure 4). Data and reports from ships and field observations provide valuable detailed information and local context that complements satellite data. 

Ice floes spread vastly amid large areas of newly forming ice
Figure 4. Ice floes spread vastly amid large areas of newly forming ice that were ice free through much of the summer. This photograph, taken from Icebreaker Oden at about 83°N latitude, captures an Arctic sunset on August 29. — Credit: Matthew Shupe, National Snow and Ice Data Center

Sea ice down south

In the Antarctic, sea ice is expanding and will reach its annual maximum extent in the coming weeks. This year, extent has been below the 1981 to 2010 average, as has been the case nearly every month since late 2016; however, it has been above the record low levels of 2023 and 2024. The August average extent was 16.46 million square kilometer (6.36 million square miles), 1.26 million square kilometers (486,000 square miles) below the 1981 to 2010 average. Earlier in the year, as late as May, ice extent was extremely low in the Bellingshausen Sea. This area has now largely recovered, but the adjacent Amundsen Sea has low sea ice extent, along with much of the East Antarctic region. 

The most notable feature of the austral growth season was a substantial decline in extent over a period of a week in early August. From August 8 to August 14, extent declined 310,000 square kilometers (120,000 square miles). Pauses in growth and short periods of decline are not unusual because of shifting weather patterns that can melt ice near the edge and/or push the ice edge poleward. This is especially true as the sea ice edge reaches the stormy northern latitudes of the Southern Ocean.

Antarctic sea ice extent for August 2026
Antarctic sea ice extent as of September 2, 2026, along with daily ice extent data for four previous years and 2014, the record high year.

Figure 5a. Antarctic sea ice extent for August 2026 was 16.46 million square kilometers (6.36 million square miles). The magenta line shows the 1981 to 2010 average extent for that month. Sea Ice Index data. About the data — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Figure 5b. This graph shows Antarctic sea ice extent as of September 2, 2026, along with daily ice extent data for four previous years and 2014, the record high year. 2026 is shown in blue, 2025 in green, 2024 n orange, 2023 in brown, 2022 in magenta, and 2014 in dashed brown. The 1981 to 2010 median is in dark gray. The gray areas around the median line show the interquartile and interdecile ranges of the data. Sea Ice Index data. — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Greenland Ice Sheet

While the other analysis site Ice Sheets Today remains in hiatus, we will include some updates from other sources as we receive them. The Greenland melt season has not been exceptional, but overall melt is similar to 2011 and 2016. The surface mass balance, calculated by the total snow and rainfall minus runoff and evaporation, stands at about -150 billion tons. Low snowfall last winter in several key exposed surface areas led to rapid runoff beginning in mid-July as the previous winter’s snow cover melted off. A few warm events spanned the southern dome of Greenland, but the more central Summit area did not see temperatures exceed -3 degrees Celsius (27 degrees Fahrenheit). 

surface mass balance for the Greenland Ice Sheet as a difference from the 1981 to 2010 average for September 2025 to August 2026,
Figure 6. This graph shows the surface mass balance for the Greenland Ice Sheet as a difference from the 1981 to 2010 average for September 2025 to August 2026, and several other recent seasons. The values are derived from the MAR 3.14.2 climate model based on weather data and physics. The gray band shows the 90 percent range of values over the entire model record. — Credit: X. Fettweis, University of Liège, MAR 3.14.2 model

Acknowledgement

We gratefully acknowledge new funding from the Climate Science and Communications Fund. The Fund represents a collaborative group of donors and scientists dedicated to supporting climate scientists and communicators and is administered by Surge Climate Talent. The views expressed in these analysis posts are those of the NSIDC science team and do not necessarily reflect the views of Surge Climate Talent.

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February 3rd, 2025 10:50:13 EST -0500 Sea ice climbs to second lowest January
Arctic zigs; Antarctic zags

Greetings, readers! Our monthly sea ice analyses are returning just in time for the September equinox. In the Arctic, the sea ice extent this summer was tracking 2012 levels until August. While Siberia and the Canadian Archipelago experienced a very warm summer, the high-latitude Arctic Ocean was relatively cool. In the Antarctic, sea ice underwent an unusually large mid-winter decline over a week in August. 

Overview of conditions

Arctic sea ice extent for August 2026 averaged 5.56 million square kilometers (2.15 million square miles), the seventh lowest in the satellite record (Figure 1a). This monthly average extent was 840,000 square kilometers (324,000 square miles) above the satellite record low set in 2012 (Figure 1b). Sea ice extent was far below average around most of the Arctic Ocean, with substantial open water particularly in the Beaufort, Chukchi, and East Siberian Seas. The Beaufort and Chukchi Seas experienced rapid change over the month. In early August, the ice edge in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas was near average, just off the north coast of Alaska. Then, during the first week of August, an open water region developed north of Utqiaġvik at about 75° N latitude. The open water region rapidly expanded, eventually becoming a large embayment in the ice edge. By the end of August, much of the ice in the Beaufort Sea had melted out. On the Atlantic side, relatively low sea ice concentrations were the rule, extending all the way to the pole (Figure 1c). 

Arctic sea ice extent for August 2026
graph shows Arctic sea ice extent as of September 2, 2026, along with daily ice extent data for four previous years and the record low year

Figure 1a. Arctic sea ice extent for August 2026 was 5.56 million square kilometers (2.15 million square miles). The magenta line shows the 1981 to 2010 average extent for that month. Sea Ice Index data. About the data — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Figure 1b. This graph shows Arctic sea ice extent as of September 2, 2026, along with daily ice extent data for four previous years and the record low year. 2026 is shown in blue, 2025 in green, 2024 in orange, 2023 in brown, 2022 in magenta, and 2012 in dashed brown. The 1981 to 2010 median is in dark gray. The gray areas around the median line show the interquartile and interdecile ranges of the data. Sea Ice Index data. — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

low sea ice concentration near the North Pole on August 31, 2026,
Figure 1c. This True Color Composite satellite image shows low sea ice concentration from Svalbard (lower right) toward the North Pole on August 31, 2026. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument on the NASA Terra satellite captured this image. — Credit: NASA Worldview

Conditions in context

In spring and early summer, low pressure and relatively cool weather persisted over the Arctic Ocean. Average temperatures from May through July at the 925 millibar level (about 2,500 feet above the surface) were up to 2 degrees Celsius (4 degrees Fahrenheit) below the 1981 to 2026 average (Figure 2a). Persistent cold-cored cyclones kept temperatures low, resulting in a pronounced low pressure cell centered over the pole in the three-months average (Figure 2b). Cloudy conditions led to less solar insolation at the surface. This, combined with low temperature, led to late melt onset in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas (Figure 2c) (Evident in preliminary data derived from passive microwave sensors, provided by Angela Bliss at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center). Melt began nearly a month later than the 1981 to 2010 average in the southern Chukchi Sea. On the Atlantic side, melt onset was earlier than average or near average. These strong regional contrasts guided the early summer progression of ice loss.

departure from average air temperature in the Arctic
average sea level pressure in the Arctic in millibars for April 2025

Figure 2a. This plot shows the departure from average air temperature in the Arctic at the 925 hectopascal, in degrees Celsius, for May through July 2026, relative to the 1981 to 2010 average. Yellows to reds indicate above average temperatures; greens to purples indicate below average temperatures. Based on data set ERA5 (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Reanalysis 5), DOI: 10.24381/cds.adbb2d47. — Credit: NSIDC courtesy NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory Physical Sciences Laboratory

Figure 2b. This plot shows average sea level pressure in the Arctic in hectopascal for May through July 2026. Yellows to reds indicate higher air pressure; greens to purples indicate lower pressure. Based on data set ERA5 (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Reanalysis 5), DOI: 10.24381/cds.adbb2d47. — Credit: NSIDC courtesy NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory Physical Sciences Laboratory

onset of sea ice melt as a difference from average, measured in days
Figure 2c. The map on the left shows the onset of sea ice melt in the Arctic as a difference from the 1991 to 2020 average, measured in days. Yellow indicates where no melt has been detected. The graph on the left depicts the average onset of Arctic melt from 1979 to 2026, with the dashed red line noting the negative trend. — Credit: Angela Bliss, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

August 2026 compared to previous years

The downward linear trend in Arctic sea ice extent through 2026 for August is 69,100 square kilometers (26,700 square miles) per year or 9.6 percent per decade relative to the 1981 to 2010 average (Figure 3). Based on the linear trend, since 1979, August has lost 3.24 million square kilometers (1.25 million square miles) of sea ice. This is equivalent to about two times the size of Alaska. 

Monthly August ice extent for 1979 to 2026 shows a decline of 9.6 percent per decade.
Figure 3. Monthly August ice extent for 1979 to 2026 shows a decline of 9.6 percent per decade. — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Ship report from the pole

NSIDC scientist Matt Shupe and other researchers cruised to the pole on the Swedish icebreaker Oden, leaving Svalbard on August 10. Shupe noted the large amount of open water en-route seen in the satellite imagery: “[There was] a remarkable amount of open water, vast expanses sometimes large enough that I could not see the other side of them. These areas of open water extended pretty much the whole way to the pole." He also noted the absence of melt ponds, in contrast to recent years. Despite the open water, he noted that melt ponds had frozen over and were covered by snow (Figure 4). Data and reports from ships and field observations provide valuable detailed information and local context that complements satellite data. 

Ice floes spread vastly amid large areas of newly forming ice
Figure 4. Ice floes spread vastly amid large areas of newly forming ice that were ice free through much of the summer. This photograph, taken from Icebreaker Oden at about 83°N latitude, captures an Arctic sunset on August 29. — Credit: Matthew Shupe, National Snow and Ice Data Center

Sea ice down south

In the Antarctic, sea ice is expanding and will reach its annual maximum extent in the coming weeks. This year, extent has been below the 1981 to 2010 average, as has been the case nearly every month since late 2016; however, it has been above the record low levels of 2023 and 2024. The August average extent was 16.46 million square kilometer (6.36 million square miles), 1.26 million square kilometers (486,000 square miles) below the 1981 to 2010 average. Earlier in the year, as late as May, ice extent was extremely low in the Bellingshausen Sea. This area has now largely recovered, but the adjacent Amundsen Sea has low sea ice extent, along with much of the East Antarctic region. 

The most notable feature of the austral growth season was a substantial decline in extent over a period of a week in early August. From August 8 to August 14, extent declined 310,000 square kilometers (120,000 square miles). Pauses in growth and short periods of decline are not unusual because of shifting weather patterns that can melt ice near the edge and/or push the ice edge poleward. This is especially true as the sea ice edge reaches the stormy northern latitudes of the Southern Ocean.

Antarctic sea ice extent for August 2026
Antarctic sea ice extent as of September 2, 2026, along with daily ice extent data for four previous years and 2014, the record high year.

Figure 5a. Antarctic sea ice extent for August 2026 was 16.46 million square kilometers (6.36 million square miles). The magenta line shows the 1981 to 2010 average extent for that month. Sea Ice Index data. About the data — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Figure 5b. This graph shows Antarctic sea ice extent as of September 2, 2026, along with daily ice extent data for four previous years and 2014, the record high year. 2026 is shown in blue, 2025 in green, 2024 n orange, 2023 in brown, 2022 in magenta, and 2014 in dashed brown. The 1981 to 2010 median is in dark gray. The gray areas around the median line show the interquartile and interdecile ranges of the data. Sea Ice Index data. — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Greenland Ice Sheet

While the other analysis site Ice Sheets Today remains in hiatus, we will include some updates from other sources as we receive them. The Greenland melt season has not been exceptional, but overall melt is similar to 2011 and 2016. The surface mass balance, calculated by the total snow and rainfall minus runoff and evaporation, stands at about -150 billion tons. Low snowfall last winter in several key exposed surface areas led to rapid runoff beginning in mid-July as the previous winter’s snow cover melted off. A few warm events spanned the southern dome of Greenland, but the more central Summit area did not see temperatures exceed -3 degrees Celsius (27 degrees Fahrenheit). 

surface mass balance for the Greenland Ice Sheet as a difference from the 1981 to 2010 average for September 2025 to August 2026,
Figure 6. This graph shows the surface mass balance for the Greenland Ice Sheet as a difference from the 1981 to 2010 average for September 2025 to August 2026, and several other recent seasons. The values are derived from the MAR 3.14.2 climate model based on weather data and physics. The gray band shows the 90 percent range of values over the entire model record. — Credit: X. Fettweis, University of Liège, MAR 3.14.2 model

Acknowledgement

We gratefully acknowledge new funding from the Climate Science and Communications Fund. The Fund represents a collaborative group of donors and scientists dedicated to supporting climate scientists and communicators and is administered by Surge Climate Talent. The views expressed in these analysis posts are those of the NSIDC science team and do not necessarily reflect the views of Surge Climate Talent.

agnieszka.gaut…
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