Now that is a worldwide breaking news,sea ice covering the Arctic has shrunk to its smallest size ever observed in the three decades since consistent satellite observations of the polar cap began, according to NASA scientists.
The extent of Arctic sea ice on Aug 26 was 4.1 million square km or 70,000 square km below what was almost five years ago on Sep 18, 2007, when daily extent of 4.17 million square km was measured.
The line on the image shows the average minimum extent from the period covering 1979-2010, as measured by satellites. Every summer the Arctic ice cap melts down to what scientists call its “minimum†before colder weather builds the ice cover back up. The size of this minimum remains in a long-term decline. The extent on Aug. 26. 2012 broke the previous record set on Sept. 18, 2007. But the 2012 melt season could still continue for several weeks.
The area was measured by the special sensor imager on the US Defence Meteorological Satellite Program spacecraft and analysed by NASA and National Snow and Ice Data Centre (NSIDC) scientists.
