The Arctic has less and less ice.

The Arctic is the region around the North Pole. The ocean there is covered with ice. In summer the ice melts, and in winter it grows again. That is why the ice is smallest every September.

This year the ice was smallest on 12 September. At that point it covered about 4.6 million square kilometres. Satellites have measured the ice from space for almost 50 years. There has been less ice only in nine years so far. There was the least ice in 2012.

In the last 20 years the ice has been much smaller than before. But since 2007 it has not been shrinking much. Scientists say that the ice is now much thinner and weaker.

White ice reflects sunlight. The dark sea absorbs the heat from the sun. So without ice the Arctic warms even faster. The ice is also important for polar bears, because they hunt on the ice.