A Texas-Size Chunk of Winter Sea Ice Is Missing From Antarctica — and It's Probably Not Coming Back
Satellite observations show about 250,000 square miles of sea ice missing, a pattern scientists link to ocean changes and possible warming.
- Satellite imagery from Sunday, June 14, 2026, reveals a massive sea ice gap in the Bellingshausen Sea of West Antarctica, covering approximately 150,000 square miles—roughly the size of Montana.
- A low-pressure anomaly is driving warm air into the region, preventing ice formation, according to Ellen Buckley, an assistant professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's Department of Earth Science and Environmental Change.
- Satellite observations reveal around 250,000 square miles of sea ice have failed to form, while Will Hobbs, a sea ice-ocean interaction scientist at the University of Tasmania, told The Guardian the situation was "depressing."
- Down the coast, researchers warn a key ice shelf is disintegrating from Antarctica's Thwaites Glacier—nicknamed the "Doomsday Glacier"—which could raise sea levels by 2.1 feet in coming centuries.
- Antarctic sea ice has entered a "new, much reduced state," according to Peter Neff, a glaciologist at the University of Minnesota, with levels about 50% lower than average. This collapse represents a major climate "point of no return.
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12 Articles
Massive chunk of sea ice has not refrozen in West Antarctica, satellite images show
Sea ice concentration, June 14, 2026. (National Snow and Ice Data Center) (ANTARCTICA) — A massive chunk of sea ice in West Antarctica has not refrozen following a winter heatwave in the region – a dramatic change that could further contribute to global sea level rise, experts told ABC News. Graphics based on satellite imagery from the University of Colorado Boulder’s National Snow and Ice Data Center taken on Sunday show a large portion of sea …
A Texas-size chunk of winter sea ice is missing from Antarctica — and it's probably not coming back
An area of ice nearly the size of Texas has failed to form over the Bellingshausen Sea, off western Antarctica, as researchers investigate the links between sea ice loss and global warming.
The west coast of Antarctica crosses one of the most disturbing signs of global warming: an extent of sea ice equivalent to France has disappeared in the sea of Bellingshausen, just as the continent should gain frost cover. Scientists warn that the phenomenon can affect polar fauna and accelerate processes linked to sea level rise.
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