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Climate1979–2026million km²

Antarctic sea ice extent in February

Average Antarctic sea ice extent in February, the month of minimum ice cover, from the NSIDC Sea Ice Index, since 1979.

2.91 million km²World · 2026

NSIDC Sea Ice Index, version 4Retrieved: 2026-11-05
Saved data version: retrieved 2026-11-05, ID bef5a9345ca0Warehouse version at build: v45
Data coverage
  • World: 1979–2026; observations: 48; missing years: 0

Missing years are counted between the first and last observations. A missing value is not zero.

World

48 rows for World

Time range:
1.502.002.503.003.504.001980199020002010202020262.91
Year

Tap the chart or pick a year to read the values.

World

Period statistics

Calculated from the values shown in this view for the selected period. Statistics follow the active display mode.

World

3.14→2.91

Total change
−7.3 %
Annual growth (CAGR)
−0.2 %
Period
1979–2026

World: 3.14 (1979) → 2.91 (2026). Change of −7.3 % over 47 years. Compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of −0.2 % per year.

Compare on chart

Format:
Antarctic sea ice extent in February — World
YearCountryValue
2026World2.91 million km²
2025World2.22 million km²
2024World2.19 million km²
2023World1.98 million km²
2022World2.21 million km²
2021World2.89 million km²
2020World2.92 million km²
2019World2.65 million km²
2018World2.33 million km²
2017World2.29 million km²
2016World2.79 million km²
2015World3.8 million km²
2014World3.84 million km²
2013World3.84 million km²
2012World3.55 million km²
2011World2.52 million km²
2010World3.11 million km²
2009World2.99 million km²
2008World3.89 million km²
2007World2.9 million km²
Source
NSIDC Sea Ice Index, version 4
Licence
Free use with citation (NSIDC)
Published by source
—
Retrieved
2026-11-05
Indicator code in source
S_02_extent_v4.0
Unit of measure
million km²
Data version
v45

Cite

Longseries, “Antarctic sea ice extent in February”. NSIDC Sea Ice Index, version 4 (S_02_extent_v4.0), 1979–2026, World. Fetterer, F., K. Knowles, W. N. Meier, M. Savoie, A. K. Windnagel and T. Stafford (2025), Sea Ice Index (G02135, Version 4), Boulder, Colorado USA, NSIDC: National Snow and Ice Data Center, doi:10.7265/a98x-0f50. Retrieved 2026-11-05. Free use with citation (NSIDC). Data version v45. Data SHA-256: bef5a9345ca07ac88662881413990f2fd431b3a347246fa6a139ccaf2cf86295. https://longseries.com/en/d/climate-antarctic-sea-ice-february/

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No source revisions recorded yet — revisions are logged when an official source updates historical values.

Latest values

1 place — sorted by value, highest first
Country
World20262.91 million km²2.9M km²

About this series

Sea Ice Index v4 (NSIDC): Southern Hemisphere sea ice extent, February monthly mean, 1979–. A February year joins the series once the month has ended.

Indicator definition

Area of the ocean where at least 15% of the surface is covered by ice, in million km². February is the end of the Antarctic summer, when the sea ice is at its smallest in the south.

How to read the data

Antarctica has no trend as simple as the Arctic one: its ice depends more on winds and currents, and since 2016 the extent was lower than before in many years. Look at multi-year averages.

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