Climate Change: Alarming February Data Reveals New Record Low for Global Ice Coverage

The trend of record-breaking climate events continued in February 2025, with global ice levels at their lowest ever recorded and Earth’s temperatures at an all-time high. Following the catastrophic climate events of 2024, the winter of 2025 saw significant melting of polar ice caps, underscoring the relentless progression of global warming. According to the monthly report from the European Copernicus service, the total ice coverage around both poles reached a new historic low in February. The three winter months in the Northern Hemisphere (December to February) were almost as warm as last year, which had set records for high temperatures. Samantha Burgess of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts emphasized that February 2025 continues the record or near-record temperatures observed over the past two years due to climate change. One consequence of a warmer world is the melting of sea ice, resulting in a historic decline in global ice coverage. While some ice typically melts during summer and reforms in winter, the percentage of melting ice is now increasing, while new ice formation is decreasing. On February 7, Copernicus recorded the lowest total ice extent around the Arctic and Antarctic. The melting primarily affects the Arctic, where Earth began its third consecutive year of record temperatures after 2024, which was the hottest year on record, surpassing the previous record set in 2023. February 2025 ranked as the third warmest February ever, with temperatures exceeding pre-industrial levels by 1.5°C. The Paris Climate Agreement aims to limit global temperature rise to below 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels to prevent worsening climate disasters. However, according to the UN, the world is on track to exceed this threshold by the early 2030s, possibly even sooner. This February was marked by massive wildfires in Argentina, several cyclones in southeastern Africa and the South Pacific Ocean, and unusually high temperatures in parts of the Arctic, Alps, Himalayas, Scandinavia, northern Chile, Argentina, Mexico, India, and Florida in the U.S. Conversely, a cold wave hit western U.S., making February particularly cold in Turkey, eastern Europe, the Middle East, and parts of eastern Asia. Additionally, ocean surface temperatures reached 20.88°C, the second highest ever recorded.