Antarctic sea ice reached its winter peak on 14 September at 17.59 million square kilometers, the third smallest in 48 years of satellite records. The Arctic hit its summer minimum on 12 September at 4.60 million square kilometers, tying for 10th lowest. Scientists say the Antarctic pattern is concerning but not yet confirmed as a structural shift, while the Arctic trend is clearly downward over the long term. A key concern is the loss of ice thickness monitoring. NOAA terminated a pressure dataset in March 2026 that fed the PIOMAS reanalysis, which tracks Arctic ice volume. Without that data, scientists lose a critical tool for understanding ice condition and predicting future changes. The article also notes that recent Antarctic low extents cluster since 2022, and that regional patterns shifted during the growth season.
