Environment
The Arctic Sea Ice Remains Troublingly Small
Despite average winds and temperatures, this year’s ice was the fourth-lowest on record.
On September 11, the sea ice in the Arctic shrank to what’s likely its smallest extent this year of 1.7 million square miles. Temperatures haven’t been balmy, and ice-breaking winds were relatively still, yet this amount was well below the historical average of 2.4 msm.
Frigid nights and the sun’s disappearance ensure the ice will begin to grow in the coming months. Yet this time next year, don’t be surprised if it hits another dismally low minimum. Just as the world’s temperatures keep going up (with this summer the hottest in known history), the ice’s area keeps going down—in fact, the nine teensiest extents in modern times have fallen in the past nine years.