
Sea Ice Loss & Temperature Trends
Changing tides.
Below, you can see the extent of Arctic sea ice loss between 1984 and 2016.
Climate Change 101
Threats of Melting Sea Ice & Pollution
Shrinking Sea Ice
Take a close look at changes to Arctic sea ice between 1984 and 2016. The pulsing shows sea ice formation in winter and melting in summer.
This visualization by NASA shows the age of the Arctic sea ice between 1984 and 2016. Younger sea ice, or first-year ice, is shown in a dark shade of blue while the ice that is four years old or older is shown as white. A bar graph displayed in the lower right corner quantifies the area in square kilometers covered by each age category of perennial sea ice.
Arctic Climate Temperature Trend
The loss of Arctic sea ice correlates with the rise in Arctic temperatures, as shown below.
Over the last 2,000 years:
- Green depicts a gradual cooling trend.
- Blue depicts decade-by-decade variations.
- Red indicates an abrupt warming spike in recent decades.

Climate Change 101
Threats of Melting Sea Ice & Pollution
It's not too late. Act now to effect change.
Your actions today will help prevent potentially catastrophic changes from taking place—not only helping polar bears, but also preserving the climate that has allowed humans to flourish.
