Arctic sea ice hits 2026 minimum, tied for tenth-lowest value since 1978
On September 12, Arctic sea ice reached 4.60 million km², tying 2008, 2010 and 2025: the last twenty years account for the twenty lowest minimums in the satellite record.
On September 12, 2026, Arctic sea ice reached its annual minimum, measured at 4.60 million square kilometers (1.78 million square miles), according to data released by the National Snow and Ice Data Center together with NASA.
The 2026 figure ties those recorded in 2008, 2010 and 2025: together they constitute the tenth-lowest value since satellite recordkeeping began in 1978. The measurement is thus compared against the entire 48-year record of observations, not against a single reference year.
A further figure provided by the source gives the scale of the phenomenon: over the 48-year satellite record, the twenty lowest minimums ever recorded all belong to the last twenty years. NSIDC researcher Walt Meier commented on the reading of the data as follows:
“we’ve stabilized, but we remain low compared to the start of the record” (transl. from English) — Walt Meier, senior researcher, National Snow and Ice Data Center
| Year | Minimum extent | Position in the record |
|---|---|---|
| 2026, 2025, 2010, 2008 | 4.60 million km² | tenth-lowest value since 1978 |
The sources do not specify the margin of instrumental uncertainty associated with the satellite measurement, nor which methodological corrections, if any, were applied to the historical data against which 2026 is compared. The central finding remains established: the September 12 measurement ranks, together with three other years, tenth among the lowest values ever recorded in nearly half a century of satellite observations.
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