Scientists warn that the shrinking sea ice is exacerbating the risk to glaciers and ice shelves, contributing to global sea-level rise.

Antarctic sea ice has likely reached its lowest extent in recorded history, according to recent findings by US scientists, highlighting the escalating effects of climate change on the frozen continent. The 2023 sea ice minimum, reported by the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) at the University of Colorado Boulder, marks a significant new low in the 45 years of satellite observations, with the extent shrinking to 691,000 square miles by 21 February, surpassing last year’s record by 52,500 square miles.

While this figure is preliminary, with continued melting potentially lowering the final count even further, researchers stress that this drop could have serious consequences for Antarctica’s ice shelves. Ted Scambos, senior research scientist at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, explained that the trend of decreasing sea ice could signal a broader impact of global warming on Antarctica, which has so far been more resistant to melting than the Arctic or Greenland. However, Scambos added that it will take years to fully confirm the long-term effects.

The reduction in sea ice means that the coastline of Antarctica is exposed to stronger ocean waves, which can erode and destabilise the ice shelves, further accelerating the melting process. Scientists warn that the loss of sea ice diminishes a natural buffer for the glaciers, including the Pine Island and Thwaites glaciers, both major contributors to rising sea levels.

Julienne Stroeve, a senior research scientist at NSIDC and professor at the University of Manitoba, cautioned that the destabilisation of ice shelves could lead to rapid ice loss from these glaciers. If such a “runaway loss” were to occur, it could significantly accelerate global sea-level rise, potentially triggering drastic changes before the end of the century.

The data comes on the heels of 2022 being recorded as Earth’s fifth or sixth warmest year, according to global agencies such as NASA and the European Space Agency, further underscoring the urgency of addressing climate change. With the polar regions experiencing the fastest warming rates, the consequences of melting sea ice in Antarctica could become more pronounced in the coming decades.