© WWF-US/Elisabeth Kruger
Features
Arctic sea ice maximum: Crisis as ice melts and risks rise
- Biodiversity and nature
- Climate Change
- Oil and gas
The US-based National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) announced that Arctic sea ice had preliminarily reached it’s annual maximum on 22 March 2025—the lowest sea ice maximum on record. Changing weather conditions or late season ice growth means that these results could still change ahead of NSIDC’s full analysis, which will be released in early April. Regardless, any loss in Arctic sea ice is a stark reminder of climate change’s impact on the entire Arctic ecosystem. Martin Sommerkorn, Head of Conservation for the WWF Global Arctic Programme, explains the importance of Arctic sea ice for the region and the entire world.
Martin Sommerkorn, Head of Conservation, WWF Global Arctic Programme
What are the primary drivers for the Arctic’s accelerated warmth, especially compared to the rest of the world?
The Arctic acts like Earth’s climate refrigerator. Warm air and water from the south are carried there by ocean currents and weather systems and are cooled down by the cold ocean and (shallow) atmosphere. But as global warming intensifies, more heat reaches the Arctic, causing ice and snow to melt. This weakens the Arctic’s cooling effect, allowing heat to build up and making the region warm even faster. This process is called Arctic amplification.
Previously, the Arctic was reported to be warming twice as fast as the global average. Later, research showed it was warming three times faster. And data from the 40 years leading up to 2022, based on the region north of 66°N (the Arctic Circle rather than the broader 60°N definition used in atmospheric sciences), suggests it may be nearly four times faster.
Why does Arctic warming matter for the rest of the world?
We should be beyond the point of chasing new Arctic climate records—this isn’t a competition. People know the climate crisis is here, even if some avoid taking action. The frozen Arctic is disappearing because of mankind’s insatiable appetite for burning fossil fuels. Losing it has global consequences—what happens in the Arctic doesn’t stay in the Arctic.
But the consequences are also Arctic—as a melting Arctic means losing its unique wildlife, ecosystems, landscapes, and Indigenous cultures.
More critically, we are losing the cryosphere—the frozen world of snow, sea ice, glaciers, ice sheets, and permafrost. This frozen world helps regulate the climate and keep sea levels stable. Without it, the entire planet is at risk.
© WWF-US/Elisabeth Kruger
How does this impact the rest of the world?
The loss of Arctic sea ice has been dramatic, with a decline of about 60 per cent since 1900, most of which has happened since 1980. With less ice to reflect sunlight, more heat is absorbed by the ocean, contributing to changes in atmospheric and oceanic patterns. These shifts have been widely discussed in relation to extreme weather events in the Northern Hemisphere.
Thawing permafrost releases additional greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, estimated to add the emissions of a medium sized country to the atmosphere over the course of this century. Once this process begins, it will continue for hundreds of years, leaving future generations to deal with its effects.
One of the biggest concerns is the Greenland Ice Sheet, which is considered a major global tipping point. Scientists estimate that its threshold for slow but inevitable disintegration lies somewhere between 1.5 and 2.2 degrees of global warming. With current commitments to reduce greenhouse gases, we are on track for 2.3 degrees of warming by 2100. This would be sufficient to melt large parts of Greenland and West Antarctica, leading to sea-level rise exceeding 10 metres in the coming centuries. The speed and magnitude of this long-term, unstoppable sea-level rise will cause persistent challenges for coastal regions including widespread loss of agricultural land, infrastructure, and livelihoods. Today, about 75 per cent of cities with more than five million inhabitants are located below 10 metres in elevation, making this a crisis that will affect millions.
What changes are happening in the Arctic due to warming?
The Arctic is transforming before our eyes. People living in the region no longer recognize the seasons, the wildlife they bring, or what activities are safe to carry out. Life is out of sync, making Indigenous cultures increasingly vulnerable. Traditional travel and transport on snow and ice have become unreliable and even unsafe, threatening food security for those who rely on country foods.
Permafrost coasts are eroding, forcing entire communities to relocate. Thawing permafrost is also destabilizing slopes, causing landslides and altering river ecosystems. In the Arctic Ocean, fish communities are shifting as southern species move north, squeezing Arctic species into ever-smaller spaces where they face local extinction. On land, similar changes are happening altering entire landscapes, as vegetation and animal populations are pushed toward the Arctic coastline, with nowhere left to go.
How can we slow or stop Arctic warming?
The only solution is to stop burning fossil fuels. To keep the global temperature overshoot beyond 1.5 degrees to a minimum, we must cut emissions by 40 per cent by 2030 and reach carbon neutrality by 2050. This is a Herculean effort that requires absolute focus and determination. The fate of the Arctic—and with it, much of humanity’s well-being—rests in the hands of those making decisions to reduce and stop the burning of fossil fuels. There are no quick fixes or alternatives. It is still possible to change course, but action must happen now.
At the moment, there is no clear leadership, and climate negotiations remain deadlocked. But we cannot negotiate with the melting point of ice.
By WWF Global Arctic Programme
