The ice Antarctica decreased by an average of 7% between July 1991 and July 2020.
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The Antarctic sea ice around the South Pole has never been so small. Last month it reached its smallest surface on record for a month of July since satellite records began in 1979, alerted the European service on climate change Copernicus, confirming an alarming year.
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The Antarctic sea ice had only reformed in July (winter month for the southern hemisphere) over an average of 15.3 million square kilometers. That’s 7% below the average for that month between 1991 and 2020, Copernicus (C3S) scientists found.
At the end of the austral summer, in February, the pack ice had shrunk to its historic low, panicking scientists. It was 30% smaller than the three-decade average between 1981 and 2010. Since February, it had remained below season averages, according to C3S. And in June already, it had reached its historic low for the month.
Illustrating the imperfect understanding of the warming phenomenon in Antarctica, Copernicus recalls that the ice pack there was, conversely, above average a year ago, in July 2021.
In the Arctic, the area of sea ice was 4% below average in July, according to Copernicus, the 12th lowest extent ever recorded in July.
2022 is a year of climate records in the world. July was one of the three hottest on record in the world, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), a UN specialized agency based in Geneva.