Image caption
Sea ice concentration in the Arctic Ocean on September 11, 2024, the day of the smallest minimum ice extent of the year. The gold line shows the median extent of ice from 1981-2020, meaning half of the years had larger extents on this day, and half had smaller. The ice extent—the area of ocean at least 15% covered by ice—in 2024 was seventh smallest on record. NOAA Climate.gov image, based on data from the National Snow and Ice Data Center.