A year of Arctic sea ice, October 2025 to October 2026. Every winter the Arctic Ocean freezes over and the ice spreads south into the Barents, Kara, Bering and Labrador seas. In summer it shrinks back to its smallest in September, when the Northern Sea Route and the Northwest Passage are at their most open. The chart shows the ice extent north of 55° N.
Source: Model: E.U. Copernicus Marine Service, Global Ocean Physics Analysis and Forecast (GLO12), daily sea ice concentration
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