From Science Matters

By Ron Clutz

The graph above shows June daily ice extents for 2024 compared to 18 year averages, and some years of note.

The black line shows on average Arctic ice extents decline from a maximum of 11.6M km2 on day 153 down to 9.7M Km2 by day 182.  2024 started slightly higher, then tracked below the 18-year average, before ending above average.  SII was somewhat higher than MASIE most of June until ending nearly the same. 2007 melted faster than average, while 2020 ice started and ended much in deficit.

Why is this important?  All the claims of global climate emergency depend on dangerously higher temperatures, lower sea ice, and rising sea levels.  The lack of additional warming prior to 2023 El Nino is documented in a post UAH May 2024: NH Cooling by Land and Sea.

The lack of acceleration in sea levels along coastlines has been discussed also.  See Observed vs. Imagined Sea Levels 2023 Update.

Also, a longer term perspective is informative:

The table below shows the distribution of Sea Ice on day 182 across the Arctic Regions, on average, this year and 2007. At this point in the year, Bering and Okhotsk seas are open water and thus dropped from the table.

Region	2024182	Day 182 Ave	2024-Ave.	2007182	2024-2007
(0) Northern_Hemisphere	9829571	9662331	167240	9379951.31	449620
(1) Beaufort_Sea	921615	919484	2132	912323.51	9292
(2) Chukchi_Sea	832358	723506	108851	650489.98	181868
(3) East_Siberian_Sea	1028480	1008708	19772	878945.14	149534
(4) Laptev_Sea	674023	696937	-22914	652206.83	21816
(5) Kara_Sea	733875	529007	204868	600511.02	133364
(6) Barents_Sea	100803	105335	-4531	112929.89	-12127
(7) Greenland_Sea	501023	496290	4733	546984.13	-45961
(8) Baffin_Bay_Gulf_of_St._Lawrence	591648	512555	79093	427145.99	164502
(9) Canadian_Archipelago	717214	776159	-58946	765307.59	-48094
(10) Hudson_Bay	505046	671642	-166596	617582.73	-112537
(11) Central_Arctic	3216938	3205266	11672	3210046.66	6891

The overall surplus to average is 167k km2, (2%).  The only major deficit is in Hudson Bay, going to open water next month anyway.  That is more than offset by surpluses everywhere, especially in Chukchi, Kara and Baffin Bay.  Note that 2007 had almost half a Wadham of less ice extent at June 30. 

Illustration by Eleanor Lutz shows Earth’s seasonal climate changes. If played in full screen, the four corners present views from top, bottom and sides. It is a visual representation of scientific datasets measuring Arctic ice extents.