A large patch of Antarctic winter sea ice has failed to form where it normally covers the Bellingshausen Sea. ABC News reports roughly 650,000 square kilometres—an area comparable to France—remaining largely ice-free in June 2026. Researchers say some ice could return later in winter, but the absence is already a warning about how quickly a regional marine system can depart from its seasonal pattern. [1]

The local signal sits inside a wider low

Copernicus measured average Antarctic sea-ice extent at 12.7 million square kilometres in June, 8% below the 1991–2020 average and sixth-lowest in the satellite record. It identified the Bellingshausen Sea as the most negative anomaly, while the Amundsen and eastern Ross seas were above average. [2] The contrast matters: a continent-wide number can hide a sharp regional redistribution of ice.

Sea ice is not sea-level rise, but it is not irrelevant

The UK Met Office reports 12.15 million square kilometres on 10 June, seventh-lowest for that day, with exceptionally low cover in the Bellingshausen sector. It attributes the pattern to a mix of warm northerly and cold southerly winds and cautions against treating one season as a complete attribution. [3] Floating sea ice does not directly raise sea level when it melts, yet it insulates the ocean, supports food webs and can protect floating ice shelves whose loss does raise sea level.

The reusable frame is to track location, season and function together. A missing patch is an observation, not a forecast of permanent disappearance; the decision value comes from repeating the measurement and linking it to ocean heat, winds, ecosystems and shelf stability.

Le signal à suivre

La valeur scientifique vient de la répétition : comparer la même zone au fil des semaines, puis relier l’écart aux vents, à l’océan et aux plateformes voisines. Cette méthode transforme une image spectaculaire en série d’observations vérifiables, sans confondre anomalie régionale et disparition permanente. [1][2][3]

Le signal à suivre

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References

ABC News Australia14 Jun 2026West Antarctic winter ice fails to form in Bellingshausen Sea in area 'size of France' Copernicus Climate Change Service9 Jul 2026Sea ice cover for June 2026 UK Met Office10 Jul 2026Briefing on Arctic and Antarctic sea ice - June 2026