Arctic and Baltic sea ice, aggregated level assessment

Key messages

(31 Oct 2020)

Arctic sea ice is declining rapidly. Since 1979, the Arctic has lost, on average, an area of 79 000 km² of sea ice per year in summer and 33 000 km² per year in winter. The Arctic summer sea ice area in 2020 was the second lowest ever. Arctic sea ice is also getting younger and thinner. A nearly ice-free Arctic sea in summer is projected to be a rare event for 1.5 °C of global warming but the norm for 2.5 °C of warming. The maximum sea ice extent in the Baltic Sea has shown a decreasing trend since about 1800 and reached its lowest value ever in winter 2019/20. This decreasing trend is projected to continue.

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