Weather Eye with John Maunder

The University of Illinois compiles daily data of the extent of the Arctic sea ice. The data is available for any day from 1980 to the present; and allows a direct comparison between the extent of the Arctic sea ice on any two days during this period.

The area of Arctic ice for each month from 2002 to today can also be seen on a website, produced by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. As shown in the graph below, during the last 10 years there has been decreases in the extent of Arctic sea ice in the Northern Hemisphere summer. However, the current NH summer season shows a reversal in this trend.

Date for the Arctic sea ice in the Northern Hemisphere summer shows that 2012 had lowest extent of the ice (in recent times), followed by 2007 (second), 2011 (third), and 2008 (fourth). However, for 2013 the Arctic ice sheet increased considerably and is now (October 2013) back to the levels of the first decade of 2000.

Time will tell whether this trend towards more ice in the Arctic will continue with its implications for among other things navigation.