---
title: Arctic Sea Ice Levels Are The Lowest on Record
description: Arctic sea ice reached its lowest peak levels since satellite recording began in 1979, U.S. scientists said on Thursday.
canonical: https://time.com/3752029/arctic-sea-ice-lowest/
author: Kevin McSpadden
article:opinion: false
article:content_tier: free
article:published_time: 2015-03-20T03:43:23.000Z
article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:40:57.842Z
article:section: Science
og:title: Arctic Sea Ice Levels Are The Lowest on Record
og:description: Ice levels also began to retreat early this year.
og:url: https://time.com/3752029/arctic-sea-ice-lowest/
og:site_name: TIME
og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta94da1e94e0bdc5b/6987847a428a9e51f5cc7b8d/arctic-sea.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9
og:image:width: 2560
og:image:height: 1440
og:image:alt: Ship among icebergs
og:type: article
twitter:card: summary_large_image
twitter:title: Arctic Sea Ice Levels Are The Lowest on Record
twitter:description: Ice levels also began to retreat early this year.
twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta94da1e94e0bdc5b/6987847a428a9e51f5cc7b8d/arctic-sea.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9
---
# Arctic Sea Ice Levels Are at the Lowest Ever Recorded
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> Last updated: August 2026.
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## Video: Know Right Now: Latest Winter Warmest on Record
[Watch (HLS stream): Know Right Now: Latest Winter Warmest on Record](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/tNgI32rG.m3u8) (1:05)
_Published 2015-03-19. Know Right Now: Latest Winter Warmest on Record_
by
[Kevin McSpadden](https://time.com/author/kevin-mcspadden/)
## Kevin McSpadden
Mar 20, 2015 3:43 AM UTC
Ship among the icebergs that have broken off the Sermeq Kujalleq ice sheet, Ilulissat, Qaasuitsup, Greenland.
Ship among the icebergs that have broken off the Sermeq Kujalleq ice sheet, Ilulissat, Qaasuitsup, Greenland. M. Santini—De Agostini/Getty Images
by
[Kevin McSpadden](https://time.com/author/kevin-mcspadden/)
## Kevin McSpadden
Mar 20, 2015 3:43 AM UTC
Arctic sea ice levels last winter [recorded](http://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/) their lowest peak since satellite monitoring began in 1979, U.S. scientists said Thursday.
According to the University of Colorado’s Snow and Ice Data Center, Arctic ice levels crowned on Feb. 25 with a maximum extent of 14.54 million sq. km — 130,000 sq. km less than the previous record low set in 2011, and 1.1 million sq. km lower than the 1981-2010 recorded average.
The drop was also widespread, with below-average ice levels recorded everywhere except for the Labrador Sea between Greenland and Canada and the Davis Strait slightly further north.
The data center did say that a late season surge in ice growth is still conceivable, but unlikely to match the winter’s high-point. Meaning this year’s Feb. 25 peak date was two weeks earlier than the average. The earliest ice-level maximum was in 1996, reaching its ceiling only one day earlier on Feb. 24.
Recent weather patterns were partly to blame for the melting ice, with an unusual jet stream bringing unseasonably warm temperatures to the Pacific side of the Arctic.
### Melting Away: One Photographer's Journey to Preserve the Polar Regions
Evigheds Fjord, Eternity GlacierWestern Greenland, September 2009 Camille Seaman
Iceberg Detail with Kittiwake Gulls Eastern Greenland, August 2006 Camille Seaman
Trapped IcebergEastern Greenland, August 2006 Camille Seaman
Grand Pinnacle Iceberg DetailEastern Greenland, August 2006 Camille Seaman
Breaching IcebergGreenland, August 2008 Camille Seaman
The Kings of South GeorgiaSouth Georgia, March 2010 Camille Seaman
Tabular Iceberg ReflectedCape Adare, Antarctica, December 2006 Camille Seaman
On the EdgeSvalbard, June 2010 Camille Seaman
Sea Ice Remnant Svalbard, July 2008 Camille Seaman
Antarctic Storm Antarctic Peninsula, December 2008 Camille Seaman
## Transcript
[ MUSIC ] [ NOISE ] [ MUSIC ]
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