Arctic has minimal ice record in the winter - and that's bad

The ice sheet in the sea of ​​the Arctic reached its ceiling for the year on March 24 - 14.52 million square kilometers. You found it? For this is the lowest coverage ever recorded by satellite, in four decades, for the winter season in the region.

The information is the National Center for Snow and Ice at the University of Colorado (NSIDC) and NASA. This new record surpassed the record low last winter, 14.54 million square kilometers, and that's not good.

The decline of sea ice has accelerated in the last two decades, and is associated with warmer weather in the region, which is affected by climate change and by short-term temporal variability.

"The Arctic is in crisis. Year after year, it goes into a new state, and it is difficult to see what effect this may have on the northern hemisphere over time," said Ted Scambos, chief scientist at the NSIDC said in a statement.

To get an idea of ​​the intensity of the changes, the 13 smaller maximum extents ever recorded by satellites occurred in the last 13 years.

This short animation shows the freezing cycle in the sea of ​​the Arctic from the minimum extension last summer until the 24th of March, when the ice surface has reached its maximum extent for the winter:

According to NASA, the new record low for winter results in part of the record temperatures in December, January and February around the world and also in the Arctic.

"The atmospheric heat contributed to it, with air temperatures up to 10 degrees above average in some parts of the Arctic," said Walt Meier, marine scientist at NASA.

"But wind patterns in the area during the months of January and February were also unfavorable, they brought hot air and prevented the expansion of the ice cover," he added.

However, warns scientist, which will likely play a bigger role in the future development of Arctic maximum extents is the warming of ocean waters.

The extent of Arctic sea ice plays a critical role in the climate system of the planet. Physically, its white surface reflects up to 80 percent of sunlight received during the long days of summer in the northern hemisphere, exerting a cooling influence on climate.

In addition, polar bears, walruses, whales and other animals depend on sea ice to survive.

Less ice also means more shipping through the Arctic and exploitation (mainly oil), with major implications for the global economy and climate security.