A grim report compiled by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) showed that sea ice in Antarctica was in record decline this winter. Ice is normally expected to accumulate in the Southern Hemisphere during the winter season. This year, however, data from the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) tells a very different story.

“At the height of the winter growth phase, Antarctic sea ice reached a record low for this time of year” – reported NOAA last week. “Sea ice coverage is approaching half a million square miles (1.3 million square kilometers), below the previous low seen in 2022.”

The situation is alarming, especially considering that Antarctica already hit a record low summer level in February.

At the height of its winter growth phase, Antarctic sea ice reached a record low for this time of year. Sea ice size is about half a million square miles below the previous low seen in 2022.

Antarctic sea ice coverage this year has dropped “about one million square miles below the 1981-2010 average” and is close to “half a million square miles below the previous lowest daily coverage seen in 2022,” according to a NOAA report.

To put these numbers in context, NSIDC science writer Michonne Scott, who wrote the NOAA report, made a useful comparison.

“On June 27, 2023, Antarctic sea ice coverage fell below the previous record low, almost twice the size of Texas at the time,” Scott wrote.

The findings are particularly worrying, as Antarctica is more resilient than the Arctic, which has shown a “decade of reduction” in sea ice, according to the report. Given that ocean levels play a huge role in everything from global weather patterns to food systems, this trend could have irreversible consequences.

“The current extreme behavior of Antarctic sea ice raises the question of whether this is the start of a long-term trend related to climate or ocean change,” Scott wrote, “but more time, data and research will be required to answer this question.”