WEDNESDAY, MARCH 26, 2025

Arctic sea ice extent appears to have reached its annual maximum on March 22, 2025. This is the lowest maximum in the 47-year satellite record, with previous low maximums occurring in 2017, 2018, 2016, and 2015.

Please note that this is a preliminary announcement. Changing weather or late-season growth could still increase the Arctic sea ice extent. NSIDC scientists will release a full analysis of the 2024 to 2025 Arctic winter sea ice conditions in early April.

Overview of conditions

On March 22, Arctic sea ice likely reached its maximum extent for the year, at 14.33 million square kilometers (5.53 million square miles), the lowest in the 47-year satellite record. This year’s maximum extent is 1.31 million square kilometers (506,000 square miles) below the 1981 to 2010 average maximum of 15.64 million square kilometers (6.04 million square miles) and 80,000 square kilometers (31,000 square miles) below the previous lowest maximum that occurred on March 7, 2017.

This year’s maximum occurred 10 days later than the 1981 to 2010 average date of March 12. The date of the maximum has varied considerably over the years, occurring as early as February 24 in 1987 and 1996 and as late as April 2 in 2010.

Arctic sea ice extent on March 22, 2025

Figure 1. Arctic sea ice extent for March 22, 2025, was 14.33 million square kilometers (5.53 million square miles). The orange line shows the 1981 to 2010 average extent for that day. Sea Ice Index data. About the data — Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Conditions in context

Low sea ice extent persisted around most of the Arctic during the 2024 to 2025 winter season. Notably, the Gulf of St. Lawrence remained virtually ice free and the Sea Okhotsk had