STATEMENT: Arctic Sea Ice is Headed for Another Record Low

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – The National Snow and Ice Data Center has reported that on March 10 Arctic sea ice coverage was below even last year’s historic low of 5.5 million square miles. Though ice could still expand, it is likely that the 2026 sea ice maximum will remain critically low.

Low Arctic sea ice coverage has serious consequences because sea ice acts as an air conditioner for a rapidly warming world. In Indigenous communities in the Arctic, sea ice provides a platform for safe travel and hunting and even protects villages from storm damage and erosion. Diminished sea ice  also draws attention to the Central Arctic Ocean, the high seas area just beyond Alaska’s coastal seas. Closed for at least 16 years starting in  2021 to commercial fishing by an international agreement led by the U.S. and signed by Russia and China, countries and companies are now speculating that the CAO is ripe for deep sea mining and transpolar shipping. Ocean Conservancy’s Senior Advisor, Scott Highleyman, released the following statement:

“Arctic sea ice has acted as the planet’s air conditioner for all of human history, but with 10 straight years of record heat in the Arctic, the ice is in retreat like never before, with untold consequences for our planet. Now is not the time to experiment. Instead of scrambling to exploit the Central Arctic Ocean with risky industries like deep sea mining and transpolar shipping, we need to pause and gather new science and existing Indigenous knowledge about the functioning of this ocean for the sake of the people and wildlife who rely on it, in the Arctic and everywhere else.”

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