Page History

...

The climate location of the ice edge is based on a near 30year periods but the area of winter ice cover has been seen to be reduced over recent years.  Maximum area of antarctic sea ice in the southern winters in 2023 and 2024 (not shown) are also lower than the available 46-year long term satellite records.  The climate of ice cover, particularly during recent years, is probably generally covers too great in extentan area.   This can have an impact on forecast temperatures and the derivation of Extreme Forecast Index in polar regions. Users should inspect the observed sea ice extent and compare with that of the the model climate.

Fig2.1.4.8-2: Sea ice concentration in early January 2025 compared with the Median ice edge over the period 1981-2010 (orange line).  Observed arctic sea ice extent is taken from Sea Ice Today from the National Snow and Ice Center (NSIDC) at University of Colorado Boulder.   

...