14 DAY TRIAL // This past August, the sea ice that formed around the Antarctica covered an impressive 7.2 million square miles (18.7 million square kilometers).
Researchers say that, as surprising as this may sound, this was its largest extent for this time of the year since record keeping began back in 1979.
What's more, last month's sea ice coverage in the Antarctica was about 4.5% bigger than the average recorded between the years 1981 and 2010. LiveScience tells us that, on September 14, sea ice in the Antarctica stretched over 7.53 million square miles (19.51 million square kilometers).
The previous record for sea ice coverage in this part of the world is one of 7.51 million square miles (19.44 square kilometers), and was documented in September 2012.
So, yeah, there is now more sea ice in the Antarctica then there has ever been since humans first started keeping track of changes in this frozen environment.
Specialists say that, since Antarctica gains or lose sea ice depending on many factors such as winds, warming temperature and the ozone hole, people should not jump to the conclusion that this new record contradicts global warming and climate change.