A Happy New Year to our loyal reader(s) from the shores of (the now frozen) Santa’s Summer Swimming Pool:

Note that for the hardy, swimming is still possible north of Svalbard, in parts of Hudson Bay and the North Water Polynya.

At the end of 2025 JAXA extent was 2nd lowest for the date, albeit in a “statistical tie” with 2024 and 2017:

NSIDC average extent for December is lowest in the satellite era by a considerable margin:

NSIDC annual average extent for 2025 is also record lowest:

Watch this space!