An area of Antarctic winter sea ice roughly the size of France – around 650,000 km² – failed to form between June and July 2026. Thus, Antarctica is currently missing sea ice along the Bellingshausen Sea, off the coast of West Antarctica, as shown by satellite observations. The seasonal formation of Antarctic sea ice has been a natural feature of Earth’s climate for thousands of years.
Normally, sea ice expands through winter and reaches its maximum extent in September. However, unusually warm ocean water & extreme heat across the Antarctic Peninsula seems to have caused the non-formation of the sea ice. This raise concerns that the Antarctic climate system may be entering a period of increased instability…
Source: Global Climate Risks Platform
Global Climate Risks Platform
- Mangrove Restoration in Southeast Asia: A Climate Defence
- Coal Has Lost Its Grip on India – Public Opinion Shows Why
- Antarctica’s Missing Sea Ice
- Historic Heatwave Grips Northern Rockies and Great Plains
- Why Southern Europe’s Wildfires Keep Getting Bigger
- Climate Change is Putting East Africa’s Crops, Culture, and Commerce at Risk
- 44°C in Paris: Why the City Banned Alcohol During the Heatwave
- Amsterdam Becomes the First Capital City to Ban Meat and Fossil Fuel Ads
- Our Cities Weren’t Built for This Heat. Adaptation Is Saving Lives.
- Malaria Is On The Move. Here’s Why.
Global Risks: A Worldwide Climate Challenge
Explore the full spectrum of climate risks threatening the planet, from extreme weather and rising seas to health and economic disruptions, all driven by a warming world.- Health: The Global Climate Risks Platform's Health Risks section explores how climate change intensifies health threats worldwide.
- Extreme Weather: Explore how Arctic warming contributes to more frequent and intense extreme weather events worldwide — including wildfires, droughts, heatwaves, cold snaps, and heavy rainfall leading to floods.
- Sea Level Rise: Sea level rise, driven by melting ice and warming water, threatens coastal cities, ecosystems, and millions of lives through flooding and land loss.
- The total overview...
