March Sea Ice: Arctic Stable 16 Years, Gains 504,000 Sq Km Since 2017! Antarctic Above Mean!

Though it has dropped since its peak in 1979, Arctic sea ice extent in March has remained stable since 2005.

There are two months that are of particular interest in the Arctic: September, when sea ice reaches its minimum, and March, when it reaches its maximum.

Gains 504,000 sq km.

Today we look at Arctic sea ice extent data for March ,2021, from the Alfred Wegener Institute, University of Bremen.

The mean sea-ice extent for March, 2021, in the Arctic was 14.72 million square kilometer, placing it at about 504,000 square kilometers above the low from 2017.

That’s an added area equivalent to the entire country of Spain.

Little trend change in 16 years

As the above chart shows, March Arctic sea ice extent has been quite stable since 2005. A number of scientists have predicted years ago that Arctic sea ice would in fact be stabilizing, before rebounding in sync with natural solar cycles. Global warming scientists dispute the claim.

Antarctica March sea ice above mean

Now looking at Antarctica, it was claimed earlier that “more than 1/3 of Antarctica’s ice shelf could collapse due to global warming.” That’s what NASA said, referring to a study by the University of Reading. The study assumes a warming of 4 degrees Celsius.

However, most coastal stations don’t show any warming. And according to Alfred Wegener Institute, sea ice extent is  above the 1981-2010 mean:

Antarctic sea ice extent, over 15% concentration, as of April 11, 2021. 6.73 million square kilometers. Image: AWI, University of Bremen. Hat-tip: Die kalte Sonne.