Combined Antarctic-Arctic sea ice extent lowest this Jan, says report

The Arctic is warming more than twice as fast as the global average. “As a result, the Arctic sea ice has retreated dramatically over the 44-year satellite record. Based on the linear trend, January has lost 1.89 million square-kilometre (sqkm) — about twice the size of Germany — since 1979,” said NSIDC experts in a joint statement.

Both the temperatures and sea ice extent are key climate indicators used by meteorologists to study the changing climate globally. Over the Antarctic, the sea ice extent was recorded to be 3.23 million sqkm — the lowest January extent in the satellite record — and below the previous January record low of 3.78 million sqkm recorded in 2017, according to US-based experts.

ECMWF said that the global temperatures remained 0.30 degrees warmer than the average during the last 12 months.

In January, above average temperatures were recorded across the eastern US, Canada, Mexico, and most parts of Europe, Contrarily, Pakistan, Afghanistan and neighbouring countries. Australia and Siberia recorded below average temperatures in January 2023, reads the ECMWF report.

The mean temperatures in India, meanwhile, remained 0.29 degrees above normal last month, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Gorm Dybkjær, sea ice researcher at Danish National Centre for Climate Research at Danish Meteorological Institute, said in a World Meteorological Organization (WMO) statement, “The extent of sea ice was generally low in Antarctica throughout last year. And this is leaving its mark as the new sea ice that forms over the winter, which becomes more fragile, and has an easier time breaking and melting. It quickly turns into a vicious circle, where the sea ice will have difficulty recovering, just as we see in the Arctic Ocean.”

According to the ECMWF, Europe experienced its third warmest January since 1979, with Balkans and eastern Europe particularly recording a warm winter. The WMO also observed a record warming, particularly on New Year’s Day, over multiple locations in Europe.

The temperatures jumped 15 to 16 degrees above average in some of the regions, including Poland’s Warsaw and western Ukraine in January 2023. Contrarily, Siberia experienced a significantly cooler than average January, and Dzalinda recorded -62.1°C.

“Such warming was aided by the southwesterly flow of air after they passed over warmer seas, resulting in unusually high temperatures over much of Europe during the New Year’s period,” explained ECMWF researchers in the official statement.

Dybkjær also said that it was too early to conclude whether sea ice continues to shrink in Antarctica or there are just long-term natural fluctuations in the weather. “We need a stronger statistical basis before we can assess whether the changes are due to climate change,” he added.

Anjali Marar is the Science Communication and Outreach Manager at the Raman Research Institute, Bengaluru