The sea ice extent around Antarctica has dropped below 2 million square kilometers (772,000 million square miles) for the third year in a row — a record that experts say is further evidence that the continent is entering a "new regime" that could cause global ripple effects.
Sea ice extent around the southern continent hit a minimum of 1.99 million square kilometers (768,000 square miles) on Feb. 20, according to scientists at the University of Colorado Boulder's National Snow and Ice Data Center.
