Berlin: Arctic sea ice levels hit record lows in February, the lowest since records began in 1979.
The EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said in its latest report that this is the third consecutive month in which low values have been recorded, noting that Arctic sea ice was 8 percent below the long-term average.
It noted that Antarctic sea ice extent reached its fourth lowest value last month, and was 26 percent below average, considering February the month in which Antarctic sea ice typically reaches its lowest annual extent.
Copernicus confirmed that 19 months out of the past 20 months were over 1.5 degrees Celsius hotter than pre-industrial levels.
Global sea ice extent refers to the combined area covered by sea ice in both polar regions, and February was the third warmest month on record.
It was 0.63 C warmer than the 19912020 average, and 1.59 C above the estimated 18501900 average.
The 2015 Paris Agreement aimed to limit global warming to as close as possible to 1.5 C above pre-industrial levels.
