Explorers have dreamed of trade shortcuts across the Arctic Ocean for centuries. That shortcut was more easily imagined than achieved, thanks to Arctic weather, polar darkness, and near-constant sea ...

Effective October 15, 2025, due to non-renewed funding, NSIDC has suspended or reduced several Sea Ice Today tools and services. Previously-published Sea Ice Today analysis posts will remain online.

Beginning October 15, 2025, NSIDC’s Sea Ice Today services will be reduced because of non-renewed funding. This means no new monthly and mid-month analysis posts ...

On September 17, Antarctic sea ice likely reached its annual maximum extent of 17.81 million square kilometers (6.88 million square miles). The 2025 maximum is the third lowest in the 47-year ...

On September 10, Arctic sea ice likely reached its annual minimum extent of 4.60 million square kilometers (1.78 million square miles). The 2025 minimum shares the tenth lowest spot in the nearly ...

Throughout August 2025, sea ice rapidly melted and compacted north of Alaska in the Beaufort Sea, initiated by a warm pulse of air from east Siberia that was sustained by persistent winds from the ...

A strong and persistent melt event occurred in southern Greenland in mid-August 2025, preceded by extensive rain in the same area. Snowfall following the rain events covered the lower elevation bare ...

At the end of July 2025, daily sea ice extent in both hemispheres ranked third lowest in the 47-year satellite record. For most of the month, Arctic sea ice extent tracked close to levels recorded for ...

The Near-Real-Time AMSR2 EASE-Grid Daily Global Ice Concentration and Snow Extent, Version 1, (NISE_A2) is now available at the NASA National Snow and Ice Data Center Distributed Active Archive Center ...

What This Means For You: As a user of these datasets, you should anticipate a gap in data availability during the transition to alternative sources. We are actively evaluating possible alternative ...

Arctic sea ice extent in May declined at a slightly faster pace compared to average. In Antarctica, the Bellingshausen Sea remains nearly ice free as far south as 72 degrees South by the end of May.

Much like a conveyer belt, an atmospheric river transports moisture from the tropical and subtropical oceans and dumps it as rain or snow in cooler regions. These long, narrow bands of concentrated ...