Arctic sea ice still below average | columnists



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The sea ice in the Arctic has survived another summer more intact than in recent years, although the trend of reducing ice at the top of the world each summer continues unabated. According to NASA and the National Snow and Ice Data Center, the Arctic reached its annual minimum of sea ice on September 19 and 23, after which the ice began to rebuild itself with ice. arrival of the colder half of the year. The agencies said this minimum was equal to 2008 and 2010 for the sixth lowest ever, at 1.77 million square miles.

The minimum this year is still 629,000 square miles below average, and scientists say the Arctic has lost about 21,000 square miles of ice a year with every minimum since the late 1970s. record low was reached in 2012. Last summer, in the Arctic, temperatures were warmer and colder than average, depending on the region. Scientists worry about a large hole detected in the ice over Greenland, where the oldest sea ice in the Arctic is located. Although the ice will recover this winter, the ice will be thinner and less durable because of the hole.

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