The National Snow and Ice Data Center in the United States has reported that Arctic sea ice has reached the lowest extent on record, and is still continuing to shrink. In fact there is still about a month left in the usual melting season for Arctic sea ice this year.

Sea ice has been monitored since the 1970s, when satellite images became available. And scientists say the current melt can’t be explained by natural variability. Influences from human activities must be contributing to the melt.

The melting is even going faster than computer climate models had predicted. According to one expert this may bring the date for a complete melt of Arctic ice in the summer forward from a 2070 to 2100 prediction all the way to 2030.

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