
-
PSG eye becoming France's first 'Invincibles'
-
Late birdie burst lifts Ryder to Texas Open lead
-
Five potential Grand National fairytale endings
-
Trump purges national security team after meeting conspiracist
-
More work for McIlroy even with two wins before Masters
-
Trump hopeful of 'great' PGA-LIV golf merger
-
No.1 Scheffler goes for third Masters crown in four years
-
Where Trump's tariffs could hurt Americans' wallets
-
Trump says 'very close to a deal' on TikTok
-
Trump tariffs on Mexico: the good, the bad, the unknown
-
Postecoglou denies taunting Spurs fans in Chelsea defeat
-
Oscar-winning Palestinian director speaks at UN on Israeli settlements
-
With tariff war, Trump also reshapes how US treats allies
-
Fernandez fires Chelsea into fourth as pressure mounts on Postecoglou
-
South Korea court to decide impeached president's fate
-
Penguin memes take flight after Trump tariffs remote island
-
E.T., no home: Original model of movie alien doesn't sell at auction
-
Italy's Brignone has surgery on broken leg with Winter Olympics looming
-
Trump defiant as tariffs send world markets into panic
-
City officials vote to repair roof on home of MLB Rays
-
Rockets forward Brooks gets one-game NBA ban for technicals
-
Pentagon watchdog to probe defense chief over Signal chat row
-
US tariffs could push up inflation, slow growth: Fed official
-
New Bruce Springsteen music set for June 27 release
-
Tom Cruise pays tribute to Val Kilmer
-
Mexico president welcomes being left off Trump's tariffs list
-
Zuckerberg repeats Trump visits in bid to settle antitrust case
-
US fencer disqualified for not facing transgender rival
-
'Everyone worried' by Trump tariffs in France's champagne region
-
Italy's Brignone suffers broken leg with Winter Olympics looming
-
Iyer blitz powers Kolkata to big IPL win over Hyderabad
-
Russian soprano Netrebko to return to London's Royal Opera House
-
French creche worker gets 25 years for killing baby with drain cleaner
-
UK avoids worst US tariffs post-Brexit, but no celebrations
-
Canada imposing 25% tariff on some US auto imports
-
Ruud wants 'fair share' of Grand Slam revenue for players
-
Lesotho, Africa's 'kingdom in the sky' jolted by Trump
-
Trump's trade math baffles economists
-
Gaza heritage and destruction on display in Paris
-
'Unprecedented crisis' in Africa healthcare: report
-
Pogacar gunning for blood and thunder in Tour of Flanders
-
Macron calls for suspension of investment in US until tariffs clarified
-
Wall St leads rout as world reels from Trump tariffs
-
Mullins gets perfect National boost with remarkable four-timer
-
Trump tariffs hammer global stocks, dollar and oil
-
Authors hold London protest against Meta for 'stealing' work to train AI
-
Tate Modern gifted 'extraordinary' work by US artist Joan Mitchell
-
Mexico president welcomes being left off Trump's new tariffs list
-
Tonali eager to lead Newcastle back into Champions League
-
Lesotho hardest hit as new US tariffs rattle Africa

Antarctic sea ice hits lowest winter maximum on record: US data
The sea ice around Antarctica likely had a record low surface area when it was at its maximum size this winter, a preliminary US analysis of satellite data showed Monday.
As the southern hemisphere transitions into spring, the US National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) said in a statement that Antarctic sea ice had only reached a maximum size of 16.96 million square kilometers (6.55 million square miles) this year, on September 10.
The ice pack typically reaches its largest size during the colder winter months, so the September 10 reading will likely remain this year's maximum.
"This is the lowest sea ice maximum in the 1979 to 2023 sea ice record by a wide margin," said the NSIDC, a government-supported program at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
At its high-point this year, the sea ice was 1.03 million square kilometers smaller than the previous record, roughly the size of Texas and California combined.
"It's a record-smashing sea ice low in the Antarctic," said NSIDC scientist Walt Meier.
He added that the growth in sea ice appeared "low around nearly the whole continent as opposed to any one region."
In February, at the height of the austral summer, the Antarctic sea ice pack had reached a minimum extent of 1.79 million square kilometers, also a record, according to the NSIDC.
The ice pack then grew back at an unusually slow pace, despite the onset of winter.
Meanwhile at the other end of the globe, where summer is drawing to a close, Arctic sea ice reached a low of 4.23 million square kilometers, the NSIDC said. It represents the sixth lowest minimum in 45 years of recordkeeping.
- Warming oceans -
For several decades, the Antarctic sea ice pack had remained stable, even expanding slightly.
But "since August 2016, the Antarctic sea ice extent trend took a sharp downturn across nearly all months" the NSIDC said.
There is debate among scientists over the cause of the shift, with some reluctant to establish a formal link with global warming. Climate models have struggled in the past to predict changes in the Antarctic ice pack.
The downward trend is "now thought to be linked to warming in the uppermost ocean layer," the NSIDC said.
"There is some concern that this may be the beginning of a long-term trend of decline for Antarctic sea ice, since oceans are warming globally."
Melting pack ice has no immediate impact on sea levels, as it forms by freezing salt water already in the ocean.
But the white ice reflects more of the Sun's rays than darker ocean water, so its loss accentuates global warming.
The loss of pack ice also exposes Antarctica's coastline to greater wave action, which could destabilize the freshwater ice cap and endanger coastal habitats. The melting land ice would cause a catastrophic rise in sea levels.
However the NSIDC notes a possibility that waves impacting the ice sheet may increase "accumulation near the coast, offsetting in part the threat of rising sea level."
P.Mathewson--AMWN