Sea ice levels in Antarctica have reached alarmingly low levels

For the third year in a row, the climate crisis is destroying glaciers

The extent of sea ice around Antarctica has fallen below 2 million square kilometers for the third year in a row. These were new record numbers that experts say are further evidence that the continent is entering a “new era” that could cause global repercussions.

The extent of sea ice around the southern continent has reached at least 1.99 million square kilometers, according to scientists at the National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado Boulder.

This figure compares with data from 2022 and is the second highest in the entire 46-year history of such observations. The lowest figure in history was in February 2023 – 1.79 million square kilometers.

For scientists monitoring changes in Antarctica, these are alarming signs that the extent of sea ice—a critical factor in maintaining stable climate conditions around the globe—has been irrevocably altered.

“2023 just threw everything for a loop,” climate researcher Arian Puric told Live Science. “Nothing like 2023 has ever been observed before in the history of observations.” It’s not just a little low, it’s incredibly low.”

Since satellites began tracking Antarctic sea ice in 1978, its extent has typically fluctuated between relatively stable summer lows and winter highs.

Sea ice serves many functions: providing a home for emperor penguins to raise their young; protects vulnerable glaciers from warming seawater; reflects some of the sun’s rays back into space; and transports nutrients, oxygen and carbon dioxide through ocean currents, promoting the development of marine life.

But in recent years, scientists have seen changes in sea ice extent. One record low in 2016 was followed by another in 2022 and then a third in 2023.

During a period in March 2023 on the continent when sea ice typically recovers at a rapid pace, scientists observed six months of never-before-seen lows. By the height of the winter season in July, Antarctica had failed to replenish its ice reserves, which were larger than Western Europe.

A string of records has led scientists to speculate that the southern continent may be entering a lower state in which the summer of 2024 will pass without any ice protecting the continent’s ice shelves from seawater.

Recent research has also shown that sea ice extent has become much more variable in recent years – another sign that a “sharp critical transition” has occurred, according to the study.

Following the discovery of these alarming changes, scientists have called for better monitoring and reading of data on the continent; increasing funding for collaborative research; and urgently reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

“If Antarctica stops cooling the planet and starts warming, then we will all see rapid warming – above 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit (1.5 degrees Celsius),” explained glaciologist Martin Siegert. He added that once this process begins, it will be largely unstoppable and difficult to correct.

“This is a problem that we are solving for the future,” says the scientist. “Not only our future, but also the future of our children and those who come after us. Our only path forward is decarbonization.”