Arctic and Antarctic Sea Ice Levels Reach Historic Low

Seeing as how we blazed past the carbon threshold at the end of September, it should come as no surprise that the poles are suffering for it.

Certain Arctic areas experienced temperatures 36 degrees above average last winter, and now records indicate that Arctic sea ice levels are the lowest ever recorded.

Arctic sea ice has been known to be struggling to form for many years, but it appears that Antarctic sea ice is now following suit.

For the last few decades, Antarctic sea ice has experienced a growth trend due to shifting wind and oceanic currents. In November, the average sea ice extent was 699,000 square miles lower than the 1981 to 2010 average.

To get an idea of how much ice that is, it’s roughly the size of Libya.

Granted, it is technically summer in the Antarctic, but temperatures are 2-4º F higher than average. Shifting wind currents have caused much of the warming, and unfortunately, once warming begins, it is very, very difficult to reverse.