Antarctic sea ice has fallen to its lowest level on record (45 years), Science Alert reports, citing the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) at the University of Colorado.. They said that the area of \u200b\u200bAntarctic sea ice has decreased to 1.79 million square kilometers..

This is 136 thousand square kilometers less than in 2022, which was also a record year..

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However, the NSIDC said that this data may not be final, as sea ice may still continue to melt until the end of the season.. Melting sea ice endangers ice shelves, making them more susceptible to sea waves and warmer temperatures.

At the same time, the melting of sea ice does not have a significant effect on sea level rise, since this ice is already in the water.. But sea ice surrounds ice shelves, which are made up of freshwater ice.. And their melting due to global warming can lead to a catastrophic rise in sea levels..

“Antarctica’s response to climate change is different than the Arctic’s.”.

A decreasing trend in sea ice could be a signal that global warming is finally affecting the floating ice around Antarctica, but it will take a few more years to be certain,” said Ted Scambos, senior fellow at the Joint Institute for Research in the Sciences..

Scientists have previously said that even if humanity can contain the increase in global temperatures within two degrees Celsius, the ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica will continue to melt irreversibly..