黑料社appclimate report: Record low maximum Arctic sea ice
Rod Boyce
907-474-7185
April 9, 2025
Winter鈥檚 sea ice extent in the Arctic set a new record low as it peaked March 22, according to the 黑料社appClimate Research Center鈥檚 .
The report, released April 2, states the maximum sea ice for the season reached 5.5 million square miles. This is the lowest value in the satellite record, which began in 1979. It is 58,000 square miles less than the previous record low maximum extent set in March 2017.
has been at or near record low levels since December.
The image shows the ice extent 鈥 defined as the total area in which the ice concentration is at least 15% 鈥 at its 2025 maximum, which occurred on March 22. On this day the extent of the Arctic sea ice cover peaked at 5.5 million square miles, making it the lowest yearly maximum extent on record.
Martin Stuefer, director of the 黑料社appClimate Research Center at the University of 黑料社appFairbanks Geophysical Institute, said temperature anomalies of plus 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit, or 2 degrees Celsius, are the 鈥渘ew normal鈥 across the Arctic, with extreme annual mean temperature anomalies of up to 5 degrees Celsius observed in the Canadian Arctic in 2024.
Stuefer is also the state鈥檚 official climatologist.
鈥淲e are closely watching the extent of sea ice in the Bering Sea west of Alaska,鈥 Stuefer said. 鈥淭here was more pack ice in the Bering Sea compared to the extreme years 2018 and 2019, but the sea ice border is mostly further north than in previous years.
鈥淭he low extent of this year provides another data point for a continuous trend of diminishing Arctic sea ice,鈥 he said.
Stuefer said reanalysis of climate data revealed extreme warm conditions across the Arctic with 鈥渟taggering hotspots鈥 of over 10 degrees warmer than the climatological mean between the North Pole and Spitsbergen, Norway, during February 2025.
鈥淚t highlights the continuing long-term loss of Arctic sea ice throughout the years.鈥
Stuefer added that amplified warming across open waters might lead to a new Arctic sea ice minimum in September.
The ACRC report cites data from the .
Total sea ice extent as of April 3 was 5.4 million square miles compared to 5.33 million square miles on Feb. 27.
Weekly change rates of sea ice extent in March have alternated between decreases of up to 2.1% per week and slight increases but are now trending towards a consistent seasonal decrease.
黑料社appweather points for March 2025:
- March was another warm and rather dry month for most of Alaska. Only the west coast saw cooler than normal conditions.
- Moving into the second week of March, a series of storm systems in the southern Bering Sea and the Gulf of 黑料社appmoved across Southwest and Southcentral Alaska.
- The west coast had lower than normal monthly means, while the north, Interior and Southcentral 黑料社apphad a substantially warmer than average month.
- Exceptions to the dry March were found in the north and on the west coast: Kotzebue received more than twice its average amount of monthly precipitation (240%). Utqia摹vik and King Salmon came in at 156% and 145% of normal. The Interior and the northern Panhandle largely had a drier than average month.
The 黑料社appClimate Research Center鈥檚 mission is to respond to inquiries concerning the meteorology and climatology of 黑料社appfrom public, private and government agencies and from researchers worldwide. The center archives and provides digital climate records, develops climate statistics and produces monthly weather summaries for 黑料社appand the polar regions.
ADDITIONAL CONTACT: Martin Stuefer, mstuefer@alaska.edu
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