Research shows that Arctic sea ice loss is directly related to global CO2 emissions; Stroeve & Notz, 2018.
Explore what this means in this interactive app.
ARCTIC SEA-ICE EXTENT IS SHRINKING FAST. Arctic sea ice is an indicator of climate stability. Today, there is about 40% less sea ice coverage at the end of the melt season than existed in the 1980s. The ice area shrank by almost half the size of the entire European Union. What was left was smaller than at any time in at least 1,000 years.
HOW HAS ARCTIC SEA ICE EXTENT CHANGED OVER TIME? Our new Sea Ice Stripes show you how the ice has changed over time.
SEE THE DATASEA ICE LOSS WORSENS WARMING. White ice cover reflects much of the sun’s energy back out to space. But as ice disappears, the dark ocean is exposed, absorbs more of the sun’s energy, and warms, helping to melt more snow and ice. Estimates suggest that the loss of Arctic sea ice together with reductions in snow cover over the boreal land areas will exacerbate global warming by 25 - 40% (Duan, Cao, and Caldeira, 2019, Pistone, Eisenman, and Ramanathan, 2014).
SEE THE DATAIncreased Global Temperature means less Arctic sea ice This new visualisations hows how when the global temperature is higher there is less sea ice in the Arctic.
SEE THE DATAThe UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is the world’s most authoritative source on climate change. It reviews all published literature to provide comprehensive and objective scientific information.
VANISHING SEA ICE MEANS AN UNRECOGNISABLE WORLD
Charts best viewed in landscape mode, rotate your phone to explore this chart.
Charts best viewed in landscape mode, rotate your phone to explore this chart.
Charts best viewed in landscape mode, rotate your phone to explore this chart.
Charts best viewed in landscape mode, rotate your phone to explore this chart.
The following gauges show up-to-date data regarding key indicators in the Arctic. These indicators clearly point to the crisis at hand.