About this map
Every winter the seas around the poles freeze, and every summer they thaw again. This map shows both ice caps at their extremes in every year of the satellite record, 1979–2026, as two polar discs side by side: the Arctic on the left, the Antarctic on the right. Each frame is one year: for each pole the winter maximum (blue) and, inside it, the summer minimum (white), each on its own date. The blue band between them is the ice that comes and goes with the seasons. The Arctic summer ice has shrunk the most: its September minimum averaged 7.0 million km² in 1979–1988 and 4.5 million km² in 2017–2026, with the record low of 3.39 million km² in 2012. The winter maximum fell less, from 16.2 to 14.7 million km². The Antarctic held steady for decades and reached its largest maximum, 20.16 million km², in 2014; since then it has dropped sharply, to a record low minimum of 1.85 million km² in 2023 and a record low maximum of 17.07 million km² in 2023. Pins mark each new record from 1985 on (the records that still stand as large pins); the bar at the top compares the two September extremes, the Arctic minimum and the Antarctic maximum. Both shades show sea ice extent: every 25 km grid cell where satellites measure at least 15% ice cover. Maxima and minima are dated on NSIDC's 5-day mean. Until August 1987 the satellites measured every other day, and NSIDC counts the small area around the North Pole that older satellites could not see as ice. The ice edge is smoothed and simplified to about 10 km, floes smaller than about 1,500 km² are left out, and the ice runs under the land, so the coast comes from the basemap. Each disc is a polar stereographic map, the projection NSIDC uses, reaching 40°N and 50°S. Values for 2026 are near-real-time and may still be revised slightly. Sources: NSIDC Sea Ice Index, Version 4 (G02135), daily extent maps and daily extent series, National Snow and Ice Data Center; Natural Earth (land, Antarctic ice shelves).
Text version: https://www.movingpolygons.com/map/chrisjager/sea-ice-at-its-extremes-19792026.md
Timeline
| Date | What the map shows |
|---|---|
| 15 Oct 1979 | 1979 |
| 15 Oct 1980 | 1980 |
| 15 Oct 1981 | 1981 |
| 15 Oct 1982 | 1982 |
| 15 Oct 1983 | 1983 |
| 15 Oct 1984 | 1984 |
| 15 Oct 1985 | 1985 |
| 15 Oct 1986 | 1986 · record low Antarctic max |
| 15 Oct 1987 | 1987 |
| 15 Oct 1988 | 1988 |
| 15 Oct 1989 | 1989 · record low Arctic max |
| 15 Oct 1990 | 1990 · record low Arctic min |
| 15 Oct 1991 | 1991 · record low Arctic max |
| 15 Oct 1992 | 1992 · record low Arctic max |
| 15 Oct 1993 | 1993 · record low Antarctic min |
| 15 Oct 1994 | 1994 |
| 15 Oct 1995 | 1995 · record low Arctic max |
| 15 Oct 1996 | 1996 |
| 15 Oct 1997 | 1997 |
| 15 Oct 1998 | 1998 · record high Antarctic max |
| 15 Oct 1999 | 1999 · record low Arctic min |
| 15 Oct 2000 | 2000 |
| 15 Oct 2001 | 2001 |
| 15 Oct 2002 | 2002 · record low Arctic min |
| 15 Oct 2003 | 2003 |
| 15 Oct 2004 | 2004 · record low Arctic max |
| 15 Oct 2005 | 2005 · records: N-max low, N-min low, S-max high |
| 15 Oct 2006 | 2006 · records: Arctic max low, Antarctic max high |
| 15 Oct 2007 | 2007 · record low Arctic min |
| 15 Oct 2008 | 2008 |
| 15 Oct 2009 | 2009 |
| 15 Oct 2010 | 2010 |
| 15 Oct 2011 | 2011 |
| 15 Oct 2012 | 2012 · records: Arctic min low, Antarctic max high |
| 15 Oct 2013 | 2013 · record high Antarctic max |
| 15 Oct 2014 | 2014 · record high Antarctic max |
| 15 Oct 2015 | 2015 · record low Arctic max |
| 15 Oct 2016 | 2016 |
| 15 Oct 2017 | 2017 · records: Arctic max low, Antarctic min low |
| 15 Oct 2018 | 2018 |
| 15 Oct 2019 | 2019 |
| 15 Oct 2020 | 2020 |
| 15 Oct 2021 | 2021 |
| 15 Oct 2022 | 2022 · record low Antarctic min |
| 15 Oct 2023 | 2023 · record lows: Antarctic max and min |
| 15 Oct 2024 | 2024 |
| 15 Oct 2025 | 2025 · record low Arctic max |
| 15 Oct 2026 | 2026 |
Layers
Arctic sea ice, winter maximum · Arctic sea ice, summer minimum · Antarctic sea ice, winter maximum · Antarctic sea ice, summer minimum
Events
- 17 Sep 2012, Record low: Arctic minimum 2012, 3.39 M km²: The Arctic sea ice minimum of 2012, 3.39 million km² on 17 Sep, set a new record low for the satellite era, beating 4.15 million km² in 2007. 5-day mean; source: NSIDC Sea Ice Index v4.
- 21 Sep 2014, Record high: Antarctic maximum 2014, 20.16 M km²: The Antarctic sea ice maximum of 2014, 20.16 million km² on 21 Sep, set a new record high for the satellite era, beating 19.56 million km² in 2013. 5-day mean; source: NSIDC Sea Ice Index v4.
- 21 Feb 2023, Record low: Antarctic minimum 2023, 1.85 M km²: The Antarctic sea ice minimum of 2023, 1.85 million km² on 21 Feb, set a new record low for the satellite era, beating 1.98 million km² in 2022. 5-day mean; source: NSIDC Sea Ice Index v4.
- 9 Sep 2023, Record low: Antarctic maximum 2023, 17.07 M km²: The Antarctic sea ice maximum of 2023, 17.07 million km² on 9 Sep, set a new record low for the satellite era, beating 17.96 million km² in 1986. 5-day mean; source: NSIDC Sea Ice Index v4.
- 22 Mar 2025, Record low: Arctic maximum 2025, 14.31 M km²: The Arctic sea ice maximum of 2025, 14.31 million km² on 22 Mar, set a new record low for the satellite era, beating 14.41 million km² in 2017. 5-day mean; source: NSIDC Sea Ice Index v4.