The world’s C-Ice falls to record less

The world’s frozen oceans, which help keep the planet cool, currently already recorded already recorded ice, satellite data shows.

The sea-armed around the north and south poles acts like a huge mirror by reflecting the energy of the sun back into the space.

But such as rising temperatures can shrink this bright layer, the dark ocean below can absorb higher heat, heat the planet more.

It appears to be inspired by the latest maritime-bounded by combining ice by combining hot air, warm seas and winds.

According to the BBC analysis of data from the US National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), from 5 days to 13 February to 13 February, the joint limit of Arctic and Antarctic C-II was 15.76 million sq km (6.08 million sq mile).

It reduces the previous 5-day record of 15.93 million sq km (6.15 million square miles) from January 2023.

The Arctic C-Ice is currently on its smallest recorded border for the year of the year, while the Antarctic C-Ice is close to a new low in the satellite records returning to the late 1970s.

The decline of the Arctic C-Ice is well established in response to a warming planet. Its end-summer limit fell from 7 million sq km in the 1980s to 4.5 million sq km in the 2010s.

But by the mid-2010s, the Antarctic C-II had become remarkable flexible, defying the predictions that it would shrink.

Since then, Antarctica has shown a series of very few marine-arms expansion, although there is still a lot of natural variability.

NSIDC senior research scientist Walter Meer told BBC News, “Every year, every data point that we get, suggests that it is not a temporary change, but something else is permanent, as if we have seen in the Arctic . “

“It is indicating that the Antarctic has gone to a new regime of low ice expansion.”

The Antarctic C -Ise is relatively thin and mobile – surrounded by sea rather than arctic like arctic – so it can be particularly sensitive to ice -breaking winds.

But hot air and hot water played an important role in this latest 2025 lower at the end of summer of the southern hemisphere.

Antarctic snow seems to be one from the Antarctic continent, inste Especially the climax of the surfaceInspired by high air temperature.

Research scientist at the British Antarctic Survey Tom Bracegardal said, “In atmospheric conditions in December and January it seemed that they were firmly promoting the melting of the surface on snow-shelves.”

“It can also contribute what we have seen in the Antarctic C-Ice, and the ongoing ocean warming is setting the background for all this.”

Antarctica’s record of 2023 C-Ice, one -2,000 years without climate change, According to a recent studyStill 2025 is not far from taking it.

At the other end of the planet, the Arctic must reach its annual maximum, which helps the oceans to freeze in cold winter temperature.

But the current maritime border is about 0.2 million sq km below anything recorded earlier for the time of the year, and is tracking much less than the end of 2024.

This is partially as a result of a late freeze-up of snow around Hudson Bay, with a long time to cool unusually warm sea water.

Along with the hot sea, some storms also disrupted ice around the ice and bearing seas, with the results a long-term cut in the thickness of the sea-arms.

“A thin ice cover is more responsible for the season (so) a strong effect can be a strong impact than using weather events,” said Julien Strove, Professor of Polar Observation and Modeling at University College London London.

In recent weeks, the Arctic C-Ice has also gone below the average. In early February, the temperature around the North Pole was about 20 C above normal, causing melting conditions in places like Swalbard.

Dr. According to the bracegardal, it is for the “quite amazing” year time.

This does not mean very little winter range that will end with the position of the record during the Arctic 2025, as the conditions at the poles can quickly change.

However, the decline in the coming decades is almost indispensable in the coming decades, compared to the global average with Arctic Warming.

According to the United Nations inter-government panel on climate change, the Arctic is expected to be free from C-Ice at least once at least once than 2050. Some recent studies suggest that this may happen soon.

Spreading the sea-water at both poles is not only implications for local bears and local wildlife, but also the Earth’s climate.

Polar C-Ice has already lost about 14% of its natural cooling effect, as since the early 1980s, the area of ​​bright, reflective snow has declined, According to a study published last year,

Simon Josi, a professor at the National Oceanography Center, said, “If you change the distribution of sea ice in and around Antarctica, then you modify the part of the planet that actually help us fight against climate change Doing, “Simon Josi, a professor at the National Oceanography Center, said.

C-Ice also plays an important role in the Great Ocean Conveyor, the mass movement of water that helps distribute heat around the planet and keeps places such as the UK and North-West Europe relatively lighter.

“If we look at another strong winter loss (Antarctic C-Ice), people are starting to worry about what it is doing for the movement of the sea,” Prof. Josie said.

Additional Reporting by Becky Dale