Arctic Sea Ice Nears Record Low

The Arctic Ocean’s rapidly disappearing cover of summer sea ice has shrunk to the second lowest level on record and may reach a record minimum extent by the time the melt season ends next month, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC). The image at left shows sea ice cover, in white, as of August 26, with the orange line indicating the average sea ice cover for that day from 1979 to 2000; this year’s ice extent is 760,000 square miles smaller than the historical average, meaning the ice has shrunk by an area nearly three times as large as Texas. Arctic sea ice now covers 2 million square miles. The record low, set last September, was 1.65 million square miles, and NSIDC scientists say that record could be broken next month if this summer’s melting trends continue.