Antarctic Sea Ice on Cusp of Record Winter Low For Second Year Running

Sea ice surrounding Antarctica is on the cusp of reaching a record winter low for a second year running, continuing an 'outrageous' fall in the amount of Southern Ocean that is freezing over. From a report: The Antarctic region underwent an abrupt transformation in 2023 as the sea ice cover surrounding the continent crashed for six months straight. In winter, it covered about 1.6m sq km less than the long-term average -- an area roughly the size of Britain, France, Germany and Spain combined. Scientists at the Australian Antarctic Program Partnership said the latest data showed this had been repeated in 2024. On 7 September the amount of frozen ocean was less than on the same date last year. While the winter record is not yet complete, and it is therefore not clear if the extent of sea ice for the season will be less than last year, the scientists said it was part of a body of evidence that the Antarctic system had moved to a 'new state.'

'What we're really talking about are two incredible extreme events,' said Dr Will Hobbs, a sea ice researcher at the University of Tasmania. 'Last year was outrageous and it's happened again.' Hobbs said at monthly and yearly timescales the atmosphere was the main driver of regional variability. 'What's different now is that warmer Southern Ocean temperatures are really having an impact on the sea ice,' he said. 'We know that the past two years have been the warmest on record for the planet, with global temperatures more than 1.5C above pre-industrial for extended periods. This global warmth is now reflected in the oceans around the Antarctic.' On Saturday, Southern Ocean sea ice covered 17m sq km, less than the previous low of 17.1m sq km last year. The long-term average for 7 September based on satellite data is 18.4m sq km.

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