News & Stories

Across the globe, snow and ice play a vital role in regulating Earth’s climate and providing freshwater resources to people, plants, and animals.

As Earth’s frozen regions change rapidly, NSIDC is committed to growing its research and open access data to better understand these changes. Read about NSIDC research and its contribution to science and policy making. Check out spotlights on how to use NSIDC data, tools, and resources. Learn about how we steward data and collaborate with scientists and organizations across the world to understand how the frozen parts of Earth affect the rest of the planet and impact society.

News and stories

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Analysis - Sea Ice Today

Arctic spring melt has begun. Ice extent declined most substantially in the Bering Sea and the Sea of Okhotsk. Overall decline was slower than average through the month.

Snow albedo graph for western United States
Analysis - Snow Today
Snow-covered area for the western United States was 97 percent of average for March but varied regionally with above-average area in central continental regions and below-average area in coastal and northern regions.
Analysis - Sea Ice Today

After reaching its seasonal maximum extent of 14.88 million square kilometers (5.75 million square miles) on February 25, the seasonal decline in Arctic sea ice extent through March proceeded in fits and starts.

This NASA Blue Marble image shows Arctic sea ice extent on March 24, 2016
News Release

Arctic sea ice has likely reached its maximum extent for the year, at 14.88 million square kilometers (5.75 million square miles) on February 25, according to scientists at the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) at the University of Colorad

Snow albedo, Feb-28-2022
Analysis - Snow Today
Across the western United States, the snow cover maximum for 2022 occurred on February 24, a few weeks later than average. Snow-covered area was 88 percent of average for February. Snow water equivalent was below average...