evidence: Between 1979 and 2015, average Antarctic sea ice extent – the area of ocean with at least 15% sea ice cover – increased slightly, but fairly steadily. This is in stark contrast to the Arctic, where sea ice at the minimum summer extent plummeted by nearly 12% per decade. Then, after a record high year in 2014, Antarctic sea ice extent dropped to a record low in 2017. Several years of low sea ice came after that, with the summer minimum record smashed in 2022, when it fell below 2m square kilometres for the first time. [...] Antarctic daily sea ice extent from the US National Snow and Ice Data Center. The bold lines show daily 2023 values, the shaded area indicates the two standard deviation range in historical values between 1979 and 2010. The dotted line shows the record low. Chart by Carbon Brief.As the chart shows, 2023 was an exceptional year in the satellite record, remaining well below average for the entire year.