Antarctic Sea Ice Plunged in Summer 2025

The region’s ice extent on March 1 tied for the second-lowest minimum observed in the satellite record.

This image originally appeared in the NASA Earth Observatory story Antarctic Sea Ice Plunged in Summer 2025.

NASA Earth Observatory images by Lauren Dauphin, using data from the National Snow and Ice Data Center. Story by James R. Riordon/NASA’s Earth Science News Team, adapted for Earth Observatory by Kathryn Hansen.

Published April 2, 2025
Data acquired March 1, 2025

Sources:: DMSP > SSM/I; DMSP > SSMIS; Nimbus 7 > SMMR