MOSCOW, April 6 Antarctica recorded the lowest sea ice extent in the history of regular observations since 1979, the press service of the Arctic and the Antarctic Research Institute (AARI).
«At the end of February 2023, Antarctic sea ice covered about 1.8 million square kilometers, the lowest sea ice extent since 1979 of regular Antarctic ice monitoring. seas of Weddell and Amundsen, in other seas, ice remained only along the coast,» the message says. 
According to the Institute, the minimum ice cover following the results of the summer Antarctic season, which lasts from December to February, is observed for the second year in a row. In February 2022, Antarctic sea ice covered 1.92 million square kilometers.
In the summer season of 2022-2023, the ice cover of the entire Southern Ocean, the minimum over the past 7 years, was also observed — 2.23 million square kilometers. At the same time, the maximum ice cover in the Antarctic winter was more than 20 million square kilometers, which is slightly higher than the norm of 18-19 million square kilometers. Thus, about 18 million square kilometers of sea ice melted during the Antarctic summer.
Scientists identify several reasons for this record low sea ice extent. Chief among them is the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, also known as the West Wind Current, which surrounds the Southern Ocean. As the climate changes, prevailing westerly winds intensify circular return currents, which provokes the inflow of warm water into drifting ice.
Scientists also note the degradation of the ice mass in the Pacific sector of Antarctica, where subglacial heating is observed along the entire coast by underwater volcanoes.