Visualizing Arctic Ice Loss Since 1980, Compared to Countries

By Dorothy Neufeld – Visual Capitalist

Since 1980, the Arctic’s summer sea ice has shrunk at a rate of 12.2% per decade, dramatically reshaping the polar region and opening new geopolitical and shipping dynamics.

This graphic shows the size of Arctic ice loss since 1980 compared to country land masses, based on data from NASA and the World Bank Group.

With such significant amounts of ice loss, these changes to the Arctic are opening up global shipping routes, which can be half as long as traditional routes.