Bellingshausen Sea almost ice-free in June 2026 while total Antarctic sea ice 10 percent below average

Satellite observations recorded on 10 June 2026 showed the Bellingshausen Sea on the west side of the Antarctic Peninsula almost completely ice-free. The region was missing approximately 650,000 square kilometres of sea ice compared with the 1991-2020 average, an area roughly the size of France and almost ten times the size of Tasmania. 6 million square kilometres for 10 June.

4 °C on 6 June. 2 °C. 3 °C, set on 12 June 1998.

Dr Will Hobbs of the University of Tasmania said the absence of ice in June was remarkable. “I’m concerned. It’s depressing,” he stated. ” He noted this was the third time in four years that sea ice had been very low in the Bellingshausen Sea and added, “I don’t think we will see sea ice there any more.

Dr Phil Reid of Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology said the Bellingshausen Sea had experienced “incredible coastal exposure” in both winter and summer in recent years. He pointed out that the Pine Island and Thwaites glaciers lie immediately to the west and that prolonged absence of sea ice could allow floating ice shelves to break up more quickly, accelerating glacier flow and contributing to future sea-level rise.

” He said sea ice is forming too late and breaking up too early, resulting in reduced breeding success and longer trips to moulting grounds.

Thousands of emperor penguin chicks died in four colonies in the Bellingshausen Sea region during a catastrophic breeding failure in late 2022. Earlier in 2026 the UN upgraded emperor penguins two categories to “endangered” on its threatened species list.

Hobbs said the lack of sea ice may have intensified the recent heatwave over the peninsula, noting that sea ice normally cools warmer air flowing in from the north.