The sea ice extent was 1.03 million square kilometres smaller than the previous record set in 1986.
The record low comes at a time when the sea ice that packs the ocean around Antarctica typically reaches its largest area in the winter months, which is the northern hemisphere summer. "This is the lowest sea ice maximum in the 1979 to 2023 sea ice record by a wide margin," said NSIDC.
The maximum extent is also one of the earliest on record, having reached it 13 days earlier than the 1981 to 2010 median date of September 23, the US government supported programme said.
While natural factors such as wind and temperature play a role in variations in the ice extent, the long-term downward trend has been a topic of debate for some time with evidence of a climate crisis link emerging recently.
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