Why vanishing sea ice at the poles is a crisis for the entire planet

Human-caused climate change has ravaged sea ice at both ends of Earth in what may be a disturbing new normal. February this year saw global sea ice extent hit a record low as sluggish ice growth during the Arctic winter coincided with the fourth consecutive year of extremely low sea ice cover during the Antarctic summer.

“It’s like a missing piece of a continent,” says Ed Doddridge at the University of Tasmania in Australia.