Arctic sea ice continued its run of record lows for the fourth consecutive month in March, culminating in the lowest maximum extent in the 47-year satellite record, according to a report by the EU Earth observation agency Copernicus.
The daily Arctic sea ice extent reached its lowest annual maximum on March 20 2025, covering 14.4mn square km, 6 per cent below the 1991-2020 average for the month.
Military and commercial vessels, particularly from Russia, are stepping up activity in the region, some of which is expected to be ice-free during summer within a decade, said Rebecca Pincus, former director of the Wilson Center’s Polar Institute.