Arctic: Sea-Ice Concentration/Extent

Near real-time visualizations

[Arctic Climate Seasonality and Variability]
[Arctic Sea-Ice Extent and Concentration]
[Arctic Sea-Ice Volume and Thickness]
[Arctic Temperatures]
[Antarctic Sea-Ice Extent, Concentration, and Thickness]
[Climate Change Indicators]
[United States Climate Indicators]
[Climate model projections compared to observations in the Arctic]
[Global Sea-Ice Extent and Concentration]
[Polar Climate Change Figures]
[[My Blog] Climate Viz of the Month]

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Animation shows daily Arctic sea ice extents for 2007, 2012, 2020, and 2025. The decadal averages are also included for the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s. Plot updated through 12/29/2025.
Latest Arctic sea ice extent (JAXA ADS AMSR2) updated through 12/29/2025.
Current Arctic sea ice extent (NSIDC, DMSP SSM/I-SSMIS F-18 and JAXA AMSR2) in 2025 compared to climatology (blue, 1981-2010) and 2 standard deviations from the mean (updated 12/29/2025).
Arctic sea ice extent anomalies for each year from 1979 to 2025 (satellite-era; NSIDC, DMSP SSM/I-SSMIS and JAXA AMSR2). Anomalies are calculated using a 5-day running mean from a climatological baseline of 1981-2010. 2012 is highlighted with a yellow line. 2025 is shown using a red line (updated 12/29/2025).
Arctic sea ice extent anomalies stretching from January 1979 to present day (satellite-era; NSIDC, DMSP SSM/I-SSMIS and JAXA AMSR2). Anomalies are calculated using a 5-day running mean from a climatological baseline of 1981-2010 (updated 12/29/2025).
Annual sea ice extent over the Arctic Ocean Basin (Beaufort, Chukchi, East Siberia, Laptev, and Central Arctic Seas) for 2025 (red line) and throughout the satellite era (purple [1979] to white [2024] lines). Plot updated 12/29/2025 using NSIDC Sea Ice Index v4 (DMSP SSM/I-SSMIS F-18 and JAXA AMSR2).
Current regional Arctic sea ice extents (NSIDC Sea Ice Index v4: DMSP SSM/I-SSMIS F-18 and JAXA AMSR2) for 2025 (red line) and for each year through the satellite era (blue [1979] to white [2024] lines). 2012 is shown with a yellow line. A map of the regions can be found at https://zacklabe.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/b203f-nsidc_mapseas.png. Graphic updated 12/29/2025.
Daily rank for regional Arctic sea ice extents (NSIDC Sea Ice Index v4 : DMSP SSM/I-SSMIS F-18 and JAXA AMSR2) over the satellite-era (1979-2025; 47 years). A map of the individual regions can be found at https://zacklabe.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/b203f-nsidc_mapseas.png. A rank of “1” is the lowest on record for a given region. A rank of “47” is the highest sea-ice extent on record for a given region. If the geographically-constrained region is climatologically ice-free (summer) or if the basin is climatologically ice-covered (winter), then no rank will be shown. Graphic is updated for the ranks on 12/29/2025.
Daily sea ice extent along the Siberian Coast (i.e., East Siberian, Laptev, and Kara Seas) for 2025 (red line) and throughout the satellite era (purple [1979] to white [2024] lines). Plot updated 12/29/2025 using NSIDC Sea Ice Index v4 (DMSP SSM/I-SSMIS F-18 and JAXA AMSR2).
Current regional Arctic sea ice extents (NSIDC Sea Ice Index v4: DMSP SSM/I-SSMIS F-18 and JAXA AMSR2) in addition to 2 standard deviations from the 1981-2010 mean. A map of the regions can be found at https://zacklabe.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/b203f-nsidc_mapseas.png. Graphic updated 12/29/2025.
Change in Arctic sea ice extent over the last 5 days for each marginal sea (NSIDC Sea Ice Index v4 : DMSP SSM/I-SSMIS F-18 and JAXA AMSR2). A map of the individual regions can be found at https://zacklabe.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/b203f-nsidc_mapseas.png. Graphic is updated to 12/29/2025.
A look at the cumulative change in Arctic sea ice extent for December 2025 (JAXA AMSR2) compared to each year from 2000-2024 (thin gray lines). Updated through 12/29/2025.
Latest change in daily Arctic sea ice extent for 2025 (JAXA AMSR2). Plot updated through 12/29/2025.
Latest daily Arctic sea ice extent (JAXA AMSR2) for 2025. Mean sea ice extents from the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s decades are also shown by the dashed lines. A thin white line is shown for 2012. Yearly minimum extents (2000-2024) are shown by the scatter points with color in reference to the total sea ice extent. Updated 11/3/2025.
Latest daily Arctic sea ice extent (JAXA AMSR2) for 2025. Mean sea ice extents from the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s are also shown by the dashed lines. Yearly maximum extents (2000-2024) are shown by the scatter points with color in reference to the magnitude. Updated 5/2/2025.
Current Arctic sea ice extents (JAXA AMSR2) from 2004-present. Color bars are blue when 2025 has dropped below the prior year. Updated through 12/29/2025.
Time-evolving accumulation of Arctic sea ice extent anomalies beginning each season on September 15th and ending in one year. Data are shown for seasons of 1979-1980 to 2024-2025 (satellite-era; NSIDC, DMSP SSM/I-SSMIS and JAXA AMSR2). Anomalies are calculated using a 5-day running mean from a climatological baseline of 1981-2010. Note that 2022-2023 is highlighted with a yellow line, 2023-2024 is highlighted with an orange line, and 2024-2025 is shown using a red line (updated 12/29/2025).

My visualizations:

  • Arctic Climate Seasonality and Variability
  • Arctic Sea Ice Extent and Concentration
  • Arctic Sea Ice Volume and Thickness
  • Arctic Temperatures
  • Antarctic Sea Ice Extent and Concentration
  • Climate Change Indicators
  • Climate model projections compared to observations in the Arctic
  • Global Sea Ice Extent and Concentration
  • Polar Climate Change Figures
  • [My Blog] Climate Viz of the Month

    • My related research

    [22] Timmermans, M.-L. and Z.M. Labe (2025). Sea surface temperature [in “Arctic Report Card 2025”], NOAA, DOI:10.25923/pz7y-3b10
    [HTML][BibTeX][Code]
    [Press Release]

    [21] Eayrs, C. and Z.M. Labe (2025). The future of sea ice. Comprehensive Cryospheric Science and Environmental Change, DOI:10.1016/B978-0-323-85242-5.00050-6
    [HTML][BibTeX]

    [20] Timmermans, M.-L. and Z.M. Labe (2025). [The Arctic] Sea surface temperature [in “State of the Climate in 2024”]. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., DOI:10.1175/BAMS-D-25-0104.1
    [HTML][BibTeX][Code]
    [Press Release]

    [19] Timmermans, M.-L. and Z.M. Labe (2024). Sea surface temperature [in “Arctic Report Card 2024”], NOAA, DOI:10.25923/9z96-aq19
    [HTML][BibTeX][Code]
    [Press Release]

    [18] Vanek S.B., Z.M. Labe, O. Lauter, K. Shionalyn, M.A. Shadab, E. Adasheva, A. Margevich, M.N. Schaberg, L. Ashokkumar, and J.N. Naoukin (2024). Exploring the past, present, and future of USAPECS: Lessons from a decade of supporting early career research across national and international polar networks. Arctic Yearbook, ISSN 2298-2418
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    [17] Timmermans, M.-L. and Z.M. Labe (2024). [The Arctic] Sea surface temperature [in “State of the Climate in 2023”]. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., DOI:10.1175/BAMS-D-24-0101.1
    [HTML][BibTeX][Code]
    [Press Release]

    [16] Bushuk, M., S. Ali, D. Bailey, Q. Bao, L. Batte, U.S. Bhatt, E. Blanchard-Wrigglesworth, E. Blockley, G. Cawley, J. Chi, F. Counillon, P. Goulet Coulombe, R. Cullather, F.X. Diebold, A. Dirkson, E. Exarchou, M. Gobel, W. Gregory, V. Guemas, L. Hamilton, B. He, S. Horvath, M. Ionita, J. E. Kay, E. Kim, N. Kimura, D. Kondrashov, Z.M. Labe, W. Lee, Y.J. Lee, C. Li, X. Li, Y. Lin, Y. Liu, W. Maslowski, F. Massonnet, W.N. Meier, W.J. Merryfield, H. Myint, J.C. Acosta Navarro, A. Petty, F. Qiao, D. Schroder, A. Schweiger, Q. Shu, M. Sigmond, M. Steele, J. Stroeve, N. Sun, S. Tietsche, M. Tsamados, K. Wang, J. Wang, W. Wang, Y. Wang, Y. Wang, J. Williams, Q. Yang, X. Yuan, J. Zhang, and Y. Zhang (2024). Predicting September Arctic sea ice: A multi-model seasonal skill comparison. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, DOI:10.1175/BAMS-D-23-0163.1
    [HTML][BibTeX][Code]

    [15] Timmermans, M.-L. and Z.M. Labe (2023). Sea surface temperature [in “Arctic Report Card 2023”], NOAA, DOI:10.25923/e8jc-f342
    [HTML][BibTeX][Code]
    [Press Release][NOAA Climate(dot)gov]

    [14] Timmermans, M.-L. and Z.M. Labe (2023). [The Arctic] Sea surface temperature [in “State of the Climate in 2022”]. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., DOI:10.1175/BAMS-D-23-0079.1
    [HTML][BibTeX][Code]
    [Press Release]

    [13] Timmermans, M.-L. and Z.M. Labe (2022). Sea surface temperature [in “Arctic Report Card 2022”], NOAA, DOI:10.25923/p493-2548
    [HTML][BibTeX][Code]
    [Press Release]

    [12] Timmermans, M.-L. and Z.M. Labe (2022). [The Arctic] Sea surface temperature [in “State of the Climate in 2021”]. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., DOI:10.1175/BAMS-D-22-0082.1
    [HTML][BibTeX][Code]
    [Press Release]

    [11] Labe, Z.M. and E.A. Barnes (2022), Comparison of climate model large ensembles with observations in the Arctic using simple neural networks. Earth and Space Science, DOI:10.1029/2022EA002348
    [HTML][BibTeX][Code]
    [Plain Language Summary]

    [10] Timmermans, M.-L. and Z.M. Labe (2021). Sea surface temperature [in “Arctic Report Card 2021”], NOAA, DOI:10.25923/2y8r-0e49
    [HTML][BibTeX][Code]
    [Press Release]

    [9] Timmermans, M.-L. and Z.M. Labe (2021). [The Arctic] Sea surface temperature [in “State of the Climate in 2020”]. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., DOI:10.1175/BAMS-D-21-0086.1
    [HTML][BibTeX][Code]
    [Press Release]

    [8] Peings, Y., Z.M. Labe, and G. Magnusdottir (2021), Are 100 ensemble members enough to capture the remote atmospheric response to +2°C Arctic sea ice loss? Journal of Climate, DOI:10.1175/JCLI-D-20-0613.1
    [HTML][BibTeX][Code]
    [Plain Language Summary][CLIVAR Research Highlight]

    [7] Timmermans, M.-L. and Z.M. Labe (2020). Sea surface temperature [in “Arctic Report Card 2020”], NOAA, DOI:10.25923/v0fs-m920
    [HTML][BibTeX][Code]
    [Press Release]

    [6] Timmermans, M.-L., Z.M. Labe, and C. Ladd (2020). [The Arctic] Sea surface temperature [in “State of the Climate in 2019”], Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., DOI:10.1175/BAMS-D-20-0086.1
    [HTML][BibTeX][Code]
    [Press Release]

    [5] Labe, Z.M., Y. Peings, and G. Magnusdottir (2020). Warm Arctic, cold Siberia pattern: role of full Arctic amplification versus sea ice loss alone, Geophysical Research Letters, DOI:10.1029/2020GL088583
    [HTML][BibTeX]
    [Plain Language Summary][CBS News][Science Magazine][The Washington Post]

    [4] Thoman, R.L., U. Bhatt, P. Bieniek, B. Brettschneider, M. Brubaker, S. Danielson, Z.M. Labe, R. Lader, W. Meier, G. Sheffield, and J. Walsh (2020): The record low Bering Sea ice extent in 2018: Context, impacts and an assessment of the role of anthropogenic climate change [in “Explaining Extreme Events of 2018 from a Climate Perspective”]. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc, DOI:10.1175/BAMS-D-19-0175.1
    [HTML][BibTeX][Code]
    [Press Release]

    [3] Labe, Z.M., Y. Peings, and G. Magnusdottir (2019). The effect of QBO phase on the atmospheric response to projected Arctic sea ice loss in early winter, Geophysical Research Letters, DOI:10.1029/2019GL083095
    [HTML][BibTeX]
    [Plain Language Summary]

    [2] Labe, Z.M., Y. Peings, and G. Magnusdottir (2018), Contributions of ice thickness to the atmospheric response from projected Arctic sea ice loss, Geophysical Research Letters, DOI:10.1029/2018GL078158
    [HTML][BibTeX]
    [Plain Language Summary][Arctic Today]

    [1] Labe, Z.M., G. Magnusdottir, and H.S. Stern (2018), Variability of Arctic sea ice thickness using PIOMAS and the CESM Large Ensemble, Journal of Climate, DOI:10.1175/JCLI-D-17-0436.1
    [HTML][BibTeX]
    [Plain Language Summary]

    All of the Python code used to generate these figures are available from my GitHub account. Most scripts use data sets that are generated via ftp retrieval.

    *These figures may be freely distributed (with credit). Information about the data can be found on my references page and methods page.