In 2025, summer sea ice in the Antarctic tied for the second-lowest minimum extent ever recorded in the 47-year satellite record, according to NASA and the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC).
In 2025, summer sea ice in the Antarctic tied for the second-lowest minimum extent ever recorded in the 47-year satellite record, according to NASA and the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC).
The map above shows the ice extent at its annual low on March 1, 2025. By this date, sea ice had retreated to 1.98 million square kilometers (764,000 square miles). That’s 30 percent below the 1981-2010 average of 2.84 million square kilometers (1.10 million square miles).
Sea ice extent is defined as the total area in which the ice concentration is at least 15 percent. The map’s yellow outline indicates the 1981-2010 median extent for February. A median is the middle value: That is, half of the extents were larger than the yellow line and half were smaller.
Read More: NASA Earth Observatory
Photo Credit: Lauren Dauphin, NASA Earth Observatory
