As global warming persists in exacerbating extreme weather all over the world—from the US to India—a new phenomenon has occurred at the southern tip of the Earth. Antarctica has seen a surprising gain in ice mass, a complete turnaround from the decades-long pattern of loss.
GRACE Satellites Reveal Reversal in Ice Loss Trend
A new research published by Science China Earth Sciences indicates that the Antarctic Ice Sheet increased its ice between 2021 and 2023. This result is derived from satellite measurements by NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and its successor, GRACE-FO. The satellites monitor changes in Earth’s gravity field, which can reveal changes in mass such as melting or gaining ice.
The research, conducted by Dr. Wang and Prof. Shen of Tongji University, determined that Antarctica had a net ice mass gain of approximately 108 gigatons per year over the last two years. Scientists attribute the growth primarily to unusually heavy snowfall.
“From 2011 to 2020, the Antarctic Ice Sheet lost 142 gigatons of ice per year,” the researchers added. “That trend reversed between 2021 and 2023 when the ice sheet supposedly gained approximately 108 gigatons of ice per year.”
This contrasts starkly with earlier trends. During 2002-2010, Antarctica lost about 74 billion tons of ice every year. That figure almost doubled from 2011 to 2020 as a result of swift melting in West Antarctica and certain regions of East Antarctica.
Antarctica and Arctic Display Contrasting Trends
Whilst it may seem Antarctica is adding mass in ice, it’s losing it on the opposite side of the planet. As NASA and the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) confirm, sea ice in the Arctic has never been lower than its spring peak.
March 22, 2025 saw Arctic sea ice peak at a mere 14.33 million square kilometers, the lowest record to date. In 2017, it had been at a record high of 14.41 million square kilometers.
The statistics point toward an increasing imbalance in climatic behavior at the poles. While short-term fluctuations such as snowfall could lead to short-term increases in Antarctic ice, scientists warn that such gains will not necessarily reverse the long-term effect of global warming.
