Putting the Arctic sea ice record straight
Last summer Ella Hibbert set off from Haslar Marina near Portsmouth in southern England alone in her yacht Yeva, intending to circumnavigate the Arctic in a single summer,. Ultimately that s not how things turned out, and after assorted trials and tribulations on the way through the Northwest Passage, Yeva spent the winter on Saint Paul Island in the Bering Sea. Now that the sea ice is melting in…
July was once again dominated by low pressure and anomalously low temperatures over the central Arctic: As a consequence the NSIDC monthly average extent for July was 6th lowest in their record going back to 1979: Read more on Facts About the Arctic in August 2026
Here is an animation of recent events at the Jakobshavn Glacier, courtesy of Espen Olsen at the Arctic Sea Ice Forum . The animation compares the position of the glacier s calving front during the previous record retreat in August 2015 with its position on July 19th 2026. Read more on New Record Retreat of Jakobshavn Glacier
At the beginning of July the JAXA/ViSHOP web site is undergoing maintenance yet again! Here here is how their 2 day average extent graph looked for July 1st: Image: binntho on the Arctic Sea Ice Forum Read more on Facts About the Arctic in July 2026
For those of you unfamiliar with the names of the assorted islands and channels of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago here is a map that hopefully helps: Plus another map detailing the routes through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago that have previously been successfully navigated by vessels large and small: Read more on The Northwest Passage in 2026
It s going to be more difficult to follow traffic on the Northern Sea Route this year, because the Russian authorities are no longer publishing daily position information for ships using the route. Read more on The Northern Sea Route in 2026
The JAXA/ViSHOP web site is currently undergoing maintenance, but here is how their 2 day average extent graph looked for June 2nd: Extent was 3rd lowest in the JAXA record, behind 2016 and 2019. Read more on Facts About the Arctic in June 2026
JAXA have updated their visualisations of Arctic sea ice extent data. The traditional 2 day average graph is now labelled preliminary , and currently shows 2026 in a tie with 2020 for third lowest for the date: Read more on Facts About the Arctic in May 2026
In early April JAXA Arctic sea ice extent is 3rd lowest for the date, albeit in a statistical tie with last year: The Alfred Wegener Institute’s regional extent graphs reveal an intriguing divergence on the Pacific periphery, where sea ice extent in the Sea of Okhotsk is at an all time low for the date in the AMSR2 record: Read more on Facts About the Arctic in April 2026
JAXA Arctic sea ice extent has just reached a new high for the year. At 13.76 million km² extent is currently 4th lowest for the date, just below last year s maximum of 13.78 million km²: Read more on Facts About the Arctic in March 2026