The European Union’s Copernicus Atmospheric Observatory said in February that Antarctic sea ice had fallen to its lowest level in more than four decades.
Over the course of the month, Antarctic ice cover was on average 27 percent smaller than the 1991-2020 average, and fell to its lowest level since measurements began in 1979. Copernicus wrote that most sea ice is in the Ross and West Amundsen Seas North Weddell was smaller than usual. The situation was better in the Arctic, where the amount of sea ice in February was only 2% less than the multi-year average.
According to service measurements, global average temperatures in February were 0.2°C higher than the 1991-2020 average in February, well below the peaks of 2016, 2017 and 2020. February was particularly mild in Europe, where highs Temperatures were 2 percent above the multi-year average but a record-breaker. The hottest February to date, measured in 1990, was 1.6 degrees warmer than this year.
MTI said the European Union’s Climate Observatory publishes a monthly global report based on data and model calculations from satellites, ships, aircraft and weather stations.
