ANNUAL SEPTEMBER MINIMUM EXTENT
Data source: Satellite observations. Credit: NSIDC/NASA
Rate of Change
13.0
percent per decade
Arctic sea ice reaches its minimum each September. September Arctic sea ice is now declining at a rate of 13% per decade, relative to the 1981 to 2010 average. The graph above shows the average monthly Arctic sea ice extent each September since 1979, derived from satellite observations. The 2012 extent is the lowest in the satellite record.