Less Ice than expected
On March 7th, the Arctic sea ice most likely reached its maximum extent for the year — signaling the beginning of the melt season — and that maximum tied for the lowest ever seen on the satellite record. The maximum extent was 5.65 million square miles, which may sound like a lot, until you consider that’s 463,000 square miles less than the average recorded between 1979 and 2000. That’s a little more than 8% less than the average — and it gives us some more good evidence that warming is continuing to cause the Arctic to melt at a rather profound rate…
