Two poles, two paths

Name: Two poles, two paths
Uploaded: 2026-10-31T20:27:06Z
Description: Explore September sea ice across the Arctic and Antarctic from 1979 to 2026.

Explore September sea ice across the Arctic and Antarctic from 1979 to 2026.

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About this chart

September sea ice extent · million km² · 1979–2026

Sources, method and credits

NOAA/NSIDC Sea Ice Index v4, monthly September mean sea ice extent, accessed 31 October 2026. September is late summer in the Arctic and late winter in Antarctica; values are monthly averages, not daily extremes. Extent is the ocean area in grid cells with at least 15% ice concentration. Satellites and processing sources change in 2025. Animation interpolates between annual September observations.

Fetterer et al. (2025), Sea Ice Index, Version 4, NSIDC. NASA Earth Observatory / NSIDC maps show daily 2026 extrema; Antarctic sea ice background photograph by NASA/Jeremy Harbeck, October 2018, illustrative iceberg. No endorsement implied.

Original data source