After shrinking to exceptionally low levels this summer, the Arctic’s shiny mantle of sea ice is finally starting to regrow. Way, way slower than it normally does.
In September, Arctic sea ice hit its annual summertime minimum, dwindling to just 1.60 million square miles, the second-lowest extent since satellite record-keeping began. Now, as the northern hemisphere transitions into winter, scientists expect to see sea ice rebounding rapidly. But this year, the Arctic is less like a healthy patient putting on the holiday fat and more like a starving polar bear that just ate its first meal in months. Which is also, probably true.
For the first two weeks of October, Arctic sea ice only increased by 146,000 square miles, less than a third its average growth rate from 1981 to 2010. While ice growth picked up a bit in the latter half of the month, overall, October 2016 rounded out with the poorest Arctic sea ice showing on record: a monthly average of 2.5 million square miles, which is nearly a million square miles less than normal for this time of year.
A million square miles is about four times the size of Texas........
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