A stretch of Antarctic sea ice roughly the size of Montana failed to refreeze during the Southern Hemisphere’s 2026 winter, extending a pattern of ice loss that has alarmed polar researchers since ...

Scientists say a chunk of winter sea ice the size of France off the Antarctic coast has failed to form this year.

(a) Interannual variability in Arctic sea-ice extent maximum (1979–2026). In 2026, the annual maximum extent reached a record low of 13.76 million square kilometers on March 13 (indicated by the red ...