Arctic sea ice is headed for an all-time low

This summer, Arctic sea ice retreated to near-record lows in the Northern Hemisphere, continuing a decades-long trend of shrinking and thinning ice cover in the Arctic Ocean.

This is the conclusion reached by researchers from NASA and the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC).

More melting and less ice formation

The amount of frozen seawater in the Arctic changes throughout the year as the ice melts and refreezes between seasons. Scientists track these fluctuations to understand how the Arctic responds over time to rising air and sea temperatures and longer periods of melting.

Over the past several decades, satellites have consistently observed more melting during the summer and less ice formation in the winter. (Andrei Ionescu, more at earth.com)