In 2026, the Arctic winter sea-ice extent (annual maximum extent) reached the lowest value since satellite observations began in 1979, following the previous record low in March 2025. As part of the Arctic Challenge for Sustainability III (ArCS III), the National Institute of Polar Research (NIPR) a nd the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) maintain a long-term dataset spanning more than 40 years. ...read more read less