Background: As the climate warms, it has wide ranging effects on the earth system. It can change global weather patterns, cause larger and more frequent storms, and melt glaciers and permafrost.

The sea ice that covers the north pole is not only important habitat for animals like polar bears and seals, but it is white and reflects most of the light from the sun back into space. If the ice were to melt, the dark water would absorb more of that light energy, turning it into heat and warming the even more quckly.

The graph is a time series showing the March sea ice extent in millions of km2. March is the month when the arctic sea ice typically reaches its peak.

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