Sea ice cover for March 2024

Arctic sea ice extent reached its annual maximum in March 2024, with a monthly average of 14.9 million km2. This was only about 0.1 million km2 (or 1%) below average. While being well below the values observed in the 1980s and 1990s, the March 2024 extent is well above the lowest March value of about 5% below average recorded in 2018 and marks the highest March extent since 2013.

As in January and February, the map of sea ice concentration anomalies for March 2024 shows a mix of above- and below-average concentrations across the different sectors of the Arctic Ocean, consistent with the small anomaly for the total Arctic sea ice extent. Concentrations remained above average in the Greenland Sea, a feature that has persisted since October and, before that, through most of 2023. Above-average concentrations also prevailed in the Sea of Okhotsk and in the Bering Sea, in the northern Pacific sector. In contrast, sea ice concentrations were below average in the western North Atlantic sector (Labrador Sea, Gulf of St Lawrence) and in the eastern Barents Sea. 

After reaching its annual minimum in February (the third lowest minimum on record), Antarctic sea ice resumed its seasonal growth around Antarctica. The average sea ice extent for March 2024 was 3.5 million km2, 0.9 million km2 (or 20%) below the 1991-2020 average for March. This is the sixth-lowest extent for March within the 46-year satellite dataset, close to the values recorded in 2006 (-21%) and 2019 (-22%). The below-average extent observed in March 2024 continues a series of large negative anomalies observed in March since 2017, with notable exceptions in 2020 and 2021. In 2023, after Antarctic sea ice extent reached a record low at its annual minimum in February, it increased very slowly during the freezing season, remaining at record low levels for the time of year from May to October. At this stage, it is uncertain what trajectory the sea ice extent is going to follow for the 2024 freezing season (March to September).

The sea ice cover around Antarctica in March 2024 remained well within the average ice edge for the 1991–2020 period. Below-average sea ice concentrations were most prominent in two ocean sectors: the northern Weddell Sea and the Ross-Amundsen Sea sector – the same two sectors as in February. On the other hand, concentrations were above average in a few small areas: eastern Weddell Sea, eastern Amundsen Sea, western Ross Sea and off the coast of Victoria Land, northwest of the Ross Sea.

The sea ice analysis page provides additional information about the nature, production and reliability of the data and information presented here.

The sea ice indicator page provides additional information about the long-term trends in both the Arctic and Antarctica.