A new study by Dr. Wang and Prof. Shen from Tongji University has found that Antarctica's ice sheet gained mass between 2021 and 2023. This is a major shift from previous years when the continent was consistently losing ice.
From 2002 to 2010, the Antarctic Ice Sheet was losing around 74 billion tons of ice each year. That loss increased to about 142 billion tons annually between 2011 and 2020, largely due to melting in West and parts of East Antarctica.
Between 2021 and 2023, this trend reversed. The ice sheet gained about 108 billion tons of ice per year. Scientists believe this gain is primarily the result of higher-than-usual snowfall during those years.
Antarctica’s sea ice cover had grown moderately until 2015 but started declining sharply from 2016. The recent gain in ice sheet mass is not related to sea ice, which is influenced by different factors like ocean temperature and wind patterns.
While Antarctica saw a short-term ice gain, the Arctic continued to lose sea ice. According to NASA and the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), Arctic sea ice reached a new record low maximum extent on 22 March 2025, at 14.33 million square kilometres.
The previous record low was 14.41 million square kilometres in 2017. This confirms that Arctic sea ice continues to decline due to rising global temperatures, especially in winter when sea ice usually peaks.
Scientists say the Antarctic ice gain is likely a short-term anomaly due to snowfall and does not reverse long-term climate trends. The contrasting patterns between Antarctica and the Arctic show the complexity of Earth's climate systems and the importance of continued monitoring.