Energy & Science
Arctic Sea Ice Shrank to Record Lows in July
Ice extent for the month at lowest recorded since satellites started observing the region
A icebreaker among melting ice in the Chukchi Sea of the Arctic Ocean.
Photographer: Devin Powell/NOAA/AP Photo
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Ice covering the Arctic Ocean reached the lowest level since at least 1979 for July as temperatures spiked in the region, leaving large stretches of Russia’s Siberian coast mostly ice-free.
Sea ice extent in the Arctic last month was 27% below the average set between 1981 and 2020, the lowest level ever recorded, with the previous July low set in 2012, according to a monthly report by Europe’s Copernicus agency.