‘Two incredible extreme events’: Antarctic sea ice on cusp of record winter low for second year running

Dr Will Hobbs, a sea ice researcher at the University of Tasmania, said it could take decades for the Antarctic ecosystem to recover from an event like last year. Photograph: Juan Barreto/AFP/Getty Images

Sea ice surrounding Antarctica is on the cusp of reaching a record winter low for a second year running, continuing an “outrageous” fall in the amount of Southern Ocean that is freezing over.

The Antarctic region underwent an abrupt transformation in 2023 as the sea ice cover surrounding the continent crashed for six months straight. In winter, it covered about 1.6m sq km less than the long-term average – an area roughly the size of Britain, France, Germany and Spain combined.