WASHINGTON - Arctic sea ice may have started rebuilding after reaching a record low, according to the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center.
Arctic ice now covers 4.18 million square kilometres, the agency said Thursday, up from 4.13 million on Sept. 16, which appears to have been the minimum.
Some variability could still occur, however, the agency cautioned.
The previous record low for Arctic sea ice was 5.32 million square kilometres, set on Sept. 20-21, 2005, and the average low at the end of the summer melt is 6.74 million square kilometres.
The Northwest Passage between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans along the coasts of Canada and Alaska remains open but is starting to refreeze, the centre said. The Northeast Passage along the coast of Siberia is closed by ice, according to the research co-operative.
