Antarctic sea ice, critical for maintaining ocean currents and regulating Earth's climate, has shrunk significantly, covering only 722,000 sq miles as of February 25. This is tied for the seventh lowest extent recorded, underscoring the alarming trend of decreasing sea ice linked to global warming driven by fossil fuel emissions. Experts, including Claire Yung from Australian National University, assert that the current low coverage is a stark reminder of the unprecedented changes in Earth's climate, exacerbated by uneven melting in some regions of Antarctica while others resist significant loss.
Experts say it's decreasing overall on a long-term basis due to global warming, largely due to humans burning fossil fuels.
'There is far less sea ice coverage than the historical average,' said Claire Yung, an Earth sciences researcher at Australian National University.
As the maps show, there's been a great ice loss all around Antarctica, but there are some regional variations, described as 'uneven melting'.
Antarctica's 'sea ice extent' refers to total region covered by ice around the coastline of Antarctica, and does not include the ice covering the landmass itself.
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