All posts by Jim Hunt

Circumnavigating the Arctic Solo

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Last summer Ella Hibbert set off from Haslar Marina near Portsmouth in southern England alone in her yacht Yeva, intending to circumnavigate the Arctic in a single summer,.

Ultimately that’s not how things turned out, and after assorted trials and tribulations on the way through the Northwest Passage, Yeva spent the winter on Saint Paul Island in the Bering Sea. Now that the sea ice is melting in the Chukchi Sea, Yeva has set off for the Bering Strait once again, this time aiming to complete her circumnavigation via the Northern Sea Route along the northern coast of Siberia. Here’s how Yeva’s tracking map looks at the moment:

The latest sea ice concentration map from the Russian Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute shows that the way past Wrangel Island is currently blocked by a band of 7-10/10 concentration ice:

Presumably Ella is working on the assumption that further melting will have occurred by the time Yeva reaches the coast of Chukotka?

Continue reading Circumnavigating the Arctic Solo →

Facts About the Arctic in August 2026

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July was once again dominated by low pressure and anomalously low temperatures over the central Arctic:

As a consequence the NSIDC monthly average extent for July was 6th lowest in their record going back to 1979:

August began with low pressure still dominant. According to the Canadian Meteorological Centre yet another cyclone bottomed out with a mean sea level pressure of 973 hPa on the 4th:

The continuing cyclonic activity has dispersed the sea ice, and JAXA extent is currently 12th lowest in their record:

The other side of the same coin is that reduced sea ice concentration is now apparent across large areas of the Central Arctic Basin:

Another, less intense, storm is due to arrive over the coming weekend. Here is the current GFS forecast for Saturday morning:

Watch this space!

New Record Retreat of Jakobshavn Glacier

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Here is an animation of recent events at the Jakobshavn Glacier, courtesy of Espen Olsen at the Arctic Sea Ice Forum. The animation compares the position of the glacier’s calving front during the previous record retreat in August 2015 with its position on July 19th 2026.

Click the image to view the animation at full resolution:

[Update – August 7th]

There has been another large calving of Jakobshavn Glacier, resulting in a new record retreat:

“True colour” image of Jakobshavn Glacier on August 6th from the MSI instrument on the Sentinel-2 satellites

[Update – August 10th]

There has been yet another large calving of Jakobshavn Glacier, and hence another new record retreat:

“True colour” image of Jakobshavn Glacier on August 8th from the MSI instrument on the Sentinel-2 satellites

Facts About the Arctic in July 2026

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At the beginning of July the JAXA/ViSHOP web site is undergoing maintenance yet again! Here here is how their 2 day average extent graph looked for July 1st:

Image: binntho on the Arctic Sea Ice Forum

Extent is currently second lowest for the date, above 2025 by a whisker.

Looking next at temperature anomalies across the Arctic, the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas are slightly cooler than the 1979-2000 climatology. However, the East Siberian Sea and particularly the Canadian Arctic Archipelago are well above what used to be considered “normal”:

Continue reading Facts About the Arctic in July 2026 →

The Northwest Passage in 2026

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For those of you unfamiliar with the names of the assorted islands and channels of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago here is a map that hopefully helps:

Plus another map detailing the routes through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago that have previously been successfully navigated by vessels large and small:

The sea ice in Lancaster Sound and the Amundsen Gulf is breaking up, and melt ponds are now visible on the fast ice across much of the southern route through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago:

“False colour” image of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago on June 17th from the MODIS instrument on the Terra satellite

The melt ponds previously visible in the Coronation Gulf now appear to have drained:

“False colour” image of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago on June 3rd from the MODIS instrument on the Aqua satellite
Continue reading The Northwest Passage in 2026 →

The Northern Sea Route in 2026

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It’s going to be more difficult to follow traffic on the Northern Sea Route this year, because the Russian authorities are no longer publishing daily position information for ships using the route.

However other sources revealed that things got underway early this year. On May 29th the nuclear icebreaker Ural led LNG tanker Christophe de Margerie through the Vilkitsky Strait into the Laptev Sea:

On June 5th the modest convoy is about to pass Wrangel Island into the Chukchi Sea:

Another nuclear powered icebreaker, Yakutiya, has also just made its way through the Vilkitsky Strait heading east:

If Yakutiya is leading a convoy of one or more other vessels through the pack ice in the Laptev Sea they have all got satellite AIS turned off!

[Update – June 8th]

Christophe de Margerie has passed through the Bering Strait, and thus completed the first west to east voyage through the Northern Sea Route this year. Ural has been left behind in the Chukchi Sea:

Yakutiya has travelled north of the New Siberian Islands and entered the East Siberian Sea:

[Update – June 15th]

Christophe de Margerie has just passed through the Bering Strait heading north on a return journey through the NSR. This time around Yakutiya is leading the way:

[Update – June 22nd]

Yakutiya and Christophe de Margerie have just passed through the Vilkitsky Strait heading west:

The skies were fairly clear over the central Northern Sea Route this morning, revealing the fast ice breaking up in the East Siberian Sea and plenty of melt ponds in the Laptev Sea:

“False colour” image of the Laptev and East Siberian Seas on June 22nd from the MODIS instrument on the Terra satellite

[Update – June 30th]

Christophe de Margerie is back in the Laptev Sea heading east, this time accompanied by Boris Davydov, another LNG tanker. The nuclear icebreakers are all in the Kara Sea, on the other side of the Vilkitsky Strait:

Watch this space!

Facts About the Arctic in June 2026

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The JAXA/ViSHOP web site is currently undergoing maintenance, but here is how their 2 day average extent graph looked for June 2nd:

Extent was 3rd lowest in the JAXA record, behind 2016 and 2019.

The Alfred Wegener Institute’s sea ice concentration data shows that the Bering Sea is now largely free of sea ice, and the areas of open water in the Beaufort, Chukchi, East Siberian and Laptev Seas continue to expand:

The sea ice concentration map also shows open water in much of Lancaster Sound. Also apparent is the widespread presence of melt ponds along the southern part of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Here’s a closer, albeit somewhat cloudy, look:

“False colour” image of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago on June 3rd from the MODIS instrument on the Aqua satellite
Continue reading Facts About the Arctic in June 2026 →

Facts About the Arctic in May 2026

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JAXA have updated their visualisations of Arctic sea ice extent data. The “traditional” 2 day average graph is now labelled “preliminary”, and currently shows 2026 in a tie with 2020 for third lowest for the date:

5 day averaged “confirmed” data is also available, including regional graphs. By way of example here’s JAXA’s latest extent graph for the Bering Sea, dated May 15th:

The Alfred Wegener Institute’s sea ice concentration data reveals open water in the Beaufort, Chukchi, East Siberian and Laptev Seas:

Continue reading Facts About the Arctic in May 2026 →

Facts About the Arctic in April 2026

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In early April JAXA Arctic sea ice extent is 3rd lowest for the date, albeit in a “statistical tie” with last year:

The Alfred Wegener Institute’s regional extent graphs reveal an intriguing divergence on the Pacific periphery, where sea ice extent in the Sea of Okhotsk is at an all time low for the date in the AMSR2 record:

On the other hand extent in the Bering Sea is close to an all time high:

On the Atlantic periphery extent is less extreme, although there is currently open water north of Svalbard:

Looking at the third dimension, here is the AWI’s CryoSat-2/Sentinel 3/SMOS Arctic sea ice thickness map at the end of March:

Continue reading Facts About the Arctic in April 2026 →

Facts About the Arctic in March 2026

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JAXA Arctic sea ice extent has just reached a new high for the year. At 13.76 million km² extent is currently 4th lowest for the date, just below last year’s maximum of 13.78 million km²:

At the end of February PIOMAS Arctic sea ice volume was 2nd lowest for the date at 17.54 km³:

Here is the associated sea ice thickness map:

For comparison purposes, here is the Alfred Wegener Institute’s CryoSat-2/Sentinel 3/SMOS Arctic sea ice thickness map at the end of February:

and the associated volume graph:

[Update – March 22nd]

JAXA extent is currently lowest for the date in their record going back to 1979. It’s highly likely that the metric peaked on March 7th which is a new record low maximum, albeit by a mere 20 thousand km²:

By way of a contrast, the National Snow and Ice Data Center’s 5 day averaged extent maximum of 14.29 million km² was reached on March 15th:

Here is the mid month update on the AWI’s CryoSat-2/Sentinel 3/SMOS Arctic sea ice thickness map:

Here too is the associated sea ice volume graph:

Next here are the ERA5 MSLP and 925 hPa air temperature anomaly maps for February 2026, now in “Greenland down” orientation to match the thickness maps:

together with the NSIDC monthly average extent graph for February:

The conversation continues over on the April open thread.