Winter Arctic sea ice appears to have peaked for 2011 at the lowest maximum on record.

On 7 March there were probably 14.64 million square kilometres of sea that were at least 15% ice covered in the Arctic, according to the US National Snow and Ice Data Centre. This ties with 2006 for the lowest maximum recorded by satellite and is 1.2 million sq km below the average extent for the 1979-2000 period.

On 23 March NSIDC announced that the ice had been declining in area for a week. At the moment, these figures are only provisional as weather changes could cause the ice to start expanding again, although the latest ever recorded maximum was 31 March.

Image: National Snow and Ice Data Center (click for enormous version).