Arctic sea ice extent declined quickly in June, setting record
daily lows for a brief period in the middle of the month. Strong
ice loss in the Kara, Bering, and Beaufort seas, and Hudson and
Baffin bays, led the overall retreat. Northern Hemisphere snow
extent was unusually low in May and June, continuing a pattern
of rapid spring snow melt seen in the past six years. Overview
of conditions Arctic sea ice extent for June 2012 averaged 10.97
million square kilometers (4.24 million square miles). This was
1.18 million square kilometers (456,000 square miles) below the
1979 to 2000 average extent. The last three Junes (2010-2012)
are the three lowest in the satellite record. June 2012 ice
extent was 140,000 square kilometers (54,000 square miles) above
the 2010 record low. Ice losses were notable in the Kara Sea,
and in the Beaufort Sea, where a large polynya has formed.
Retreat of ice in the Hudson and Baffin bays also contributed to
the low June 2012 extent. The only area of the Arctic where sea
ice extent is