Antarctic sea ice records its third-smallest winter peak
Sea ice around Antarctica reached its largest extent of 2026, but coverage remained unusually low even at its seasonal peak. The winter maximum was the third lowest in the satellite record, Qazinform News Agency reports.
According to NASA and the US National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), sea ice reached its maximum extent on September 14, covering approximately 17.59 million square kilometers.
Sea ice around Antarctica expands each winter and retreats each summer. It usually reaches its greatest extent in September, at the end of the Southern Hemisphere’s winter, and its smallest in February. Scientists therefore compare both summer minimums and winter maximums. The latter show how far the ice cover has expanded during the colder months.
These measurements concern frozen seawater surrounding the continent, rather than glaciers on Antarctica itself.
For many years, Antarctic sea ice extent gradually increased. Between 1979 and 2014, it grew by about 1% per decade. From 2012 to 2014, winter sea ice extent set new records for three consecutive years.
The pattern then changed. Growth stopped in 2015, and significant declines began in 2016. Although sea ice partially recovered in some years, its extent generally remained below normal. In 2023, scientists recorded both the lowest summer minimum and the lowest winter maximum in the satellite record.
Special satellite instruments allow scientists to monitor the ice even through clouds. They detect natural microwave emissions from Earth’s surface, which differ between ice and open water. This helps researchers map the boundaries of the ice cover regardless of cloud conditions. Such observations have been conducted since late 1978.
Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that NASA scientists had developed a more precise method to track shifts in Earth’s center of mass.