The Arctic is on track to be free of sea ice this year or next for the first time in more than 100,000 years, a leading scientist has claimed.  Provisional satellite data produced by the US National Snow & Ice Data Centre shows there were just over 11.1 million square kilometres of sea ice on 1 June this year, compared to the average for the last 30 years of nearly 12.7 million square kilometres. This difference – more than 1.5 million square kilometres – is about the same size as about six United Kingdoms.

Most of the remaining ice within the Arctic Circle would be trapped among the myriad of islands along Canada’s north coast. The last time the Arctic was clear of ice is believed to be about 100,000 to 120,000 years ago. The rapid warming of the polar region has been linked with extreme weather events such as “bomb cyclones”, flooding in the UK and out-of-season tornadoes in the United States. And the sea ice off the north coast of Russia, which normally insulates the water below to keep it cool, is no longer present for much of the year, allowing the sea to get significantly warmer than before.

Sea ice is usually at its lowest in September and starts to build again when the winter sets in.