With the 2026 minimum extent rapidly approaching, JAXA/ViSHOP extent is currently 12th lowest for the date in the satellite era:
Despite the falling air temperatures, the AWI concentration map is still showing plenty of open water near the North Pole:
Note also the recent increase in the area of old ice heading for oblivion via the Fram Strait:
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:
Continue reading Facts About the Arctic in August 2026At 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:
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”:
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:
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:
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 2026JAXA 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:
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.
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:
The latest Alfred Wegener Institute sea ice concentration map shows that the Pacific side of the Central Arctic Basin is now almost completely refrozen:
On the Atlantic side of the Arctic the Kara Sea is rapidly refreezing:
However, sea ice extent in the Barents Sea and Baffin Bay is currently lowest for the date in the AMSR2 record:
Pan Arctic JAXA/ViSHOP extent is currently lowest for the date in the satellite era:
The latest Alfred Wegener Institute sea ice concentration map shows the East Siberian and Laptev Seas almost completely refrozen. However, refreeze of the Kara Sea has barely begun:
Across the Arctic as a whole the refreeze has slowed significantly, and JAXA/ViSHOP extent is now 2nd lowest in the satellite era:
However, average NSIDC extent for the month of October was higher than last year and above the linear trend:
The ERA5 MSLP map for October shows high pressure over Siberia, associated with lower than normal air temperatures at 925 hPa across the region. However, temperatures across almost the entire Arctic Ocean were above normal:
High Arctic freezing degree days based on DMI >80N data were lowest for the date at the beginning of November:
Here is the Alfred Wegener Institute’s CryoSat-2/Sentinel 3/SMOS Arctic sea ice thickness map at the end of October:
Here too is the associated sea ice volume graph:
Bear in mind the caveats about the current lack of reliable SMOS data on the Atlantic side of the Arctic, and that Sentinel 3 data is only incorporated from Autumn 2023.
[Update – November 20th]Refreeze of the Beaufort Sea is complete, and refreeze of the Kara Sea has started in earnest:
However, the Barents Sea is still sea ice free and refreeze of Hudson Bay has barely begun:
JAXA extent is still second lowest for the date:
The PIOMAS gridded thickness data for October has yet to be corrected, but here is the mid month thickness map from AWI:
Here too is the associated volume graph:
JAXA/ViSHOP extent is now lowest for the date in their record going back to 1978:
The PIOMAS team have finally published gridded thickness data for October and November, so here are the October 31st and November 15th thickness maps:
The conversation continues over on the December open thread, including the latest PIOMAS data.