An area of sea ice as big as France is gone from Antarctica’s west coast, as temperatures rise

Bulletin, By Graham Readfearn || June 13, 2026

Antarctica’s west coast is missing an area of winter sea ice the size of France, sparking concerns for threatened penguins, other marine life, and global sea levels.

One expert said the loss of ice in the Bellingshausen Sea was “depressing” and the failure of ice to form could have intensified a heatwave over the continent’s peninsula last week that saw daytime temperatures peak at 15.4 degrees Celsius (about 59 degrees Fahrenheit) which is more than 20 degrees Celsius above average. (It is normally about 24 degrees Fahrenheit at this time of year.)

It’s winter in Antarctica, when sea ice expands rapidly around the continent peaking in September.

But satellite observations showed the Bellingshausen Sea—on the west side of the Antarctic peninsula and which by June would usually be covered by ice—was almost completely ice-free.

Scientists said the region was missing about 650,000 square kilometers (250,000 sq miles) of sea ice, compared with the average between 1991 and 2020. That is an area about the size of France, and almost 10 times the size of Tasmania.

“I’m concerned. It’s depressing,” said Will Hobbs, an Antarctic sea ice expert at the University of Tasmania with the Australian Antarctic Program Partnership. “It is remarkable that we are in June and there is no sea ice there.”

He said this was the third time in four years that sea ice had been very low in the region. “I don’t think we will see sea ice there any more. It’s done,” Hobbs said. The loss of sea ice was likely linked to changes in the ocean and scientists were trying to understand if global heating was a factor.

Hobbs said the region was important for krill—a critical part of the food web for species in the region. Krill would usually be hiding from predators under the ice in winter, where they graze on algae.

On June 10, there was about 11.4 million square kilometers of sea ice around the entire continent compared to a long-term average for that date of 12.6 million square kilometers.

Phil Reid, who monitors Antarctic conditions at Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology, said the Bellingshausen Sea had seen “incredible coastal exposure” in winter and summer in recent years.

Reid said just to the area’s west were the Pine Island and Thwaites glaciers—the continent’s major contributors to ice loss and sea level rise.

Floating ice shelves in front of the glaciers could break up faster if protective sea ice is absent for longer periods, he said, and this could then speed up the loss of ice from the glaciers, pushing up global sea levels in the future………………………………………………………………………….https://thebulletin.org/2026/06/an-area-of-sea-ice-as-big-as-france-is-gone-from-antarcticas-west-coast-as-temperatures-rise/?utm_source=ActiveCampaign&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Climate%20Change%3A%20New%20Data%2C%20New%20Debate&utm_campaign=20260611%20Thursday%20Newsletter%20%28Copy%29