The Arctic was left with little ice again this year.

The sea ice in the Arctic was at its smallest this year on 12 September. At that point it covered about 4.6 million square kilometres, American scientists reported on 23 September. Every year the ice melts during the summer and grows again in winter. Thus 2026 is in tenth place among the years with the least ice, together with 2008, 2010 and 2025. Satellites have measured the ice since the late 1970s, so the data cover almost half a century. There was the least ice in 2012, when only 3.4 million square kilometres remained.

All 20 years with the least ice are from the last two decades, from 2007 to 2026. Every year since 2007 the ice has been smaller than in any year before that. But over the same 20 years the summer minimum has almost stopped shrinking. Scientists speak of a plateau, meaning a period without big changes. According to them, much of the thick and old ice already melted in the 1990s and in the early 2000s. Today the old ice remains only around the North Pole and north of Greenland, where it is coldest and the summer is shortest. Scientists at NASA add that in the last decade there have been more clouds, which block sunlight and protect the ice.

Still, this does not mean that the Arctic is safe. The ice today is much thinner and younger than in the 1980s. Such ice breaks up easily in waves, winds and storms. This year the ice in the seas near Alaska melted late, but very quickly. There was also a lot of open water between Svalbard and the North Pole. So a single warm and stormy year can quickly reduce the ice.

Sea ice is important for the climate of the whole planet, and not only for the Arctic. White ice reflects a large part of sunlight, while the dark sea absorbs it. When the ice disappears, the sea warms even more, so more ice melts. That is why the Arctic is warming several times faster than the rest of the world. Polar bears and seals live on the ice, so they too feel every decrease.