Antarctica: ice the size of Argentina melted

"New world record for the climate he says CNN:
Antarctic sea ice is at very low levels for this season. Each year, Antarctic sea ice shrinks to its lowest levels towards the end of February, during the continent's summer. It then accumulates again during the winter.

But this year, scientists noticed something different.

Sea ice has not returned to expected levels. In fact, it is at a much lower level for this season than since the measurements began. Ice is about 1,6 million square kilometers below the previous winter record low set in 2022, according to data from the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC).

As of mid-July, Antarctic sea ice was 2,6 million square kilometers below the 1981 to 2010 average. That's an area almost the size of Argentina.

The phenomenon has been described by some scientists as extraordinary – something so rare that the odds are it only happens once in millions of years. But Ted Scambos, a glaciologist at the University of Colorado Boulder, said those designations may not be all that helpful.

"The game has changed," he told CNN. "There is no point in talking about the chances of getting the old system, since we clearly know that the system has changed...".

This winter's unprecedented occurrence may indicate a long-term change on the isolated continent, Scambos said.

"It's more likely that we won't see the Antarctic system recover the way it did before, say, 15 years ago, for a very long time into the future, and possibly forever."

"It's a big departure from the average, but we know that Antarctic sea ice shows a lot of variability from year to year," Julienne Stroeve, a senior scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center, told CNN, adding that "it's very early to say whether this will be the new normal or not".