Antarctic sea ice rebounds

 Antarctic sea ice extent arrives at a near-average after four years 

Antarctic sea ice has likely reached its minimum extent for the year, at 2.58 million square km's (996,000 square miles) on 26 Feb, 2026, according to scientists at the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) at the University of Colorado Boulder. The 2026 minimum ranks sixteenth lowest in the 48-year satellite record. This year’s minimum is much closer to average than the past four years, albeit still 260,000 square km's (100,000 square miles) below the 1981 to 2010 average. It is 730,000 square km's (282,000 square miles) above the record low set on 21 Feb, 2023. This year's Antarctic sea ice coverage ranks as the 16th smallest since satellite measurements began in 1979. Antarctic sea ice coverage has likely rebounded, coming closer to its annual summer average after four years of extreme lows, US scientists said.

Every year Antarctic sea ice reaches a minimum level during the Southern Hemisphere's summer, so this is the point which scientists measure it for annual readings. This year's level ranks as the 16th smallest since satellite measurements began in 1979. NASA Blue Marble have taken Antarctic sea ice data on 26 Feb, 2026, when sea ice likely reached its minimum extent for the year. “Through most of the year, Antarctic sea ice was well below the daily average,” said Ted Scambos, senior research scientist at the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Environmental Sciences (CIRES) and contributor to NSIDC’s Sea Ice Today and Ice Sheets Today projects. “Then in January and February, strong winds from the south pushed sea ice outward in the Weddell Sea. This slowed the overall decline in extent, leading to a near-average minimum." 

The 2026 minimum sea ice extent is closer to average than in the past four years, and 730,000 square km's above the record low set in February 2023, the scientists said. But it was still 260,000 square km's below the 1981-2010 average. NASA NSIDC Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC) scientist Walt Meier added, “This year’s return to less extreme conditions is not unexpected given the large year-to-year variation of Antarctic sea ice seen in the satellite record."  NSIDC scientists stress that the Antarctic sea ice extent number is preliminary, continued melt conditions or strong onshore winds could still push the ice extent lower.