The National Snow and Ice Data Center reports that Arctic sea ice appears to have reached its seasonal maximum extent on March 22, 2025, 10 days later than the 1981-2010 average. Despite the late peak, it was the lowest maximum extent of the 47-year satellite era, which began in 1979.
The new record-low winter maximum is part of the long-term trend of shrinking ice cover across the Arctic as a result of global warming. All of the top 10 smallest winter ice extents of the satellite record have occurred since 2007. That pattern is clear in the graph below: the darkest lines are the most recent years, and they sit at the bottom of the stack, meaning they are also the lowest extents.
