The Antarctic sea ice around the South Pole has never been smaller. Last month it reached the smallest surface since satellite records began in July 1979, Europe’s climate change service Copernicus warned, confirming an alarming year.
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The normal cycle of sea ice in the Arctic, like Antarctica, is that it melts in summer and forms again in winter. The Antarctic sea ice had only formed again in July (winter month for the southern hemisphere) on an average of 15.3 million square kilometers. That’s 7% below the average for that month between 1991 and 2020, Copernicus (C3S) scientists found.
By the end of southern summer, in February, sea ice had shrunk to an all-time low, sending scientists into a panic. Between 1981 and 2010, it was 30% smaller than the three-decade average. Since February, he has been below the average for the season, according to C3S. And in June it reached its historic low for the month.
Because sea ice is the ice that floats on the ocean, its melting does not raise sea levels but indirectly contributes to global warming as the open ocean absorbs more heat.
To illustrate the imperfect understanding of the warming phenomenon in Antarctica, Copernicus recalls that a year ago, in July 2021, the pack ice there was above average.
In the Arctic, July sea ice was 4% below average, the 12th lowest extent ever measured in July, according to Copernicus.
The year 2022 will set climate records worldwide. According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), a UN agency based in Geneva, July was one of the three hottest times on record in the world.