Around Antarctica the seasons run the other way. The sea ice is at its smallest in February, at the end of the southern summer, and by September it covers a huge area of the Southern Ocean, when the Arctic is at its smallest. Most of it melts again every year. The chart shows the ice extent south of 50° S.
Source: Model: E.U. Copernicus Marine Service, Global Ocean Physics Analysis and Forecast (GLO12), daily sea ice concentration
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