Arctic Sea Ice This Winter Was The Smallest Ever Recorded, Blame Global Warming

This winter Arctic sea ice was the smallest ever recorded, according to new data. The satellite records began in 1979.

The National Snow and Ice Data Center, a government-sponsored research group, said that in late February ice cover in the Arctic Ocean reached its maximum extent, 5.61 million square miles, which is about 7 percent less than the average from 1981 to 2010. This is also about 1 percent less than the previous lowest year 2011.

"This year's maximum ice extent was the lowest in the satellite record, with below-average ice conditions everywhere except in the Labrador Sea and Davis Strait," the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) said in a statement.

The research group added that the changes in the jet stream created warmer than normal conditions on the Pacific side of the Arctic.

According to the U.N. panel of climate scientists, the Arctic summertime sea ice could vanish in the second half of the century.

The U.N.'s World Meteorological Organization says 2014 was the warmest year since records began in the 19th century. Almost 200 nations have agreed to work out a deal in December in Paris to slow global warming, Reuters reported.

"This new data on sea ice loss sends a clear message to the global community that the Arctic is unraveling, warming twice as fast as the rest of the planet," Rafe Pomerance, chair of Arctic 21, a group of environmental groups, said in a statement.