Sea ice records record melting in February, says Copernicus
The global extent fell to 16 million km², breaking the minimum record of 2023
The ocean ice coverage on the planet reached a historic minimum in February, according to data released on this Thursday (6/3) by Copernicus, the European Union's climate change service. The ice extent reached 16.20 million km² on the last day of February 5th, surpassing the previous negative record for February 2023 (16.27 million km²). In the following days, the extent decreased even further, reaching 16.04 million km² on February 7th.The global sea ice extent corresponds to the sum of the frozen areas at the poles. According to Copernicus, the lowest annual value generally occurs in February, coinciding with the minimum in Antarctica. "This new low record results from a reduced extent in Antarctica, close to the lowest levels ever recorded, and the negative record in ice coverage for this time of year in the Arctic," the analysis points out.
Daily global sea ice extent from October 1978 to March 2, 2025. The year 2025 is represented by the dark blue line, 2024 by the light blue line, and 2023 by the medium blue line (Data source: EUMETSAT OSI SAF Sea Ice Index v2.2. Credit: C3S/ECMWF/EUMETSAT)
The average extent of Arctic sea ice in February was 13.7 million km², about 8% below the monthly average for the period 1991-2020. The accelerated melting had already been observed in December 2024 and January 2025, when the levels also fell below historical records.
It was the lowest value for the month since the start of satellite monitoring, 47 years ago. So far, the smallest extent of Arctic ice recorded for February had been in 2018. However, the record for 2025 does not represent the lowest historical mark for the region, as sea ice reaches its lowest point of the year in September.
Daily measurements also showed that, by the end of January, the Arctic coverage shrank by about 0.3 million km² — almost the size of Italy — in less than a week, despite the winter in the Northern Hemisphere. "Such a rapid loss is uncommon at this time of year, when sea ice typically expands towards the annual maximum," explains the report. On February 28th, the daily extent was 13.9 million km² — the lowest ever recorded for the date.
The average extent of sea ice in Antarctica in February was 2.5 million km², 26% below the 1991-2020 average for the month and the fourth lowest for the period since satellite measurements began. "This anomaly is significantly greater than that of January, when the coverage was only 5% below the monthly average," highlights Copernicus.
February, the southern hemisphere summer period, marks the annual minimum of Antarctic sea ice. In 2024, the month recorded an extent 28% below the 1991-2020 average. The negative record continues with February 2023, when the extent was 33% below the average.
February 2025 continues the sequence of record or nearly record temperatures observed in the last two years. One of the impacts of global warming is the melting of marine ice, and the reduced coverage at both poles has led to a historic minimum in global extent," says Samantha Burgess, deputy director of Copernicus.
Marine ice plays an important role in climate regulation, reflecting part of the solar radiation back into space. With less ice, the planet absorbs more heat, accelerating global warming and intensifying climatic imbalances.
The average sea surface temperature in February was 20.88 °C, the second highest value ever recorded for the month, just 0.18 °C below February 2024. The global average air temperature reached 13.36 °C, making it the third warmest February in history — 0.63 °C above the 1991-2020 average and 1.59 °C above the pre-industrial period (1850-1900). It was also the 19th of the last 20 months to record more than 1.5 °C above the pre-industrial level. (PRISCILA PACHECO)