Earth’s polar regions have lost enormous amounts of ice over the past few decades due to global climate change. However, some social media posts are claiming the opposite is true – that both Antarctic and Arctic ice have reached record levels.
“In 2014 Nasa said Ice was the largest ever recorded. Ice at the Antarctic has only grown since then,” reads a Dec. 2 Facebook post shared nearly 4,000 times in two weeks. "Meanwhile Arctic Ice Is reaching its highest point in 20 years."
The post includes a NASA image of Earth's poles, labeled with the year 2021. The Arctic pole is labeled “most ice in 20 years," while the Antarctic pole is labeled “most ice ever recorded.”
Fact check: Photo comparison shows how a glacier has melted over time, but it's nearly 20 years old
That's wrong – 2021 has not been a record-high year for ice at either pole.
Experts say the land-based ice sheets at both of Earth’s poles have lost hundreds of billions of metric tons of ice over the past few decades. Arctic sea ice is in rapid decline, and Antarctic sea ice did not reach a peak in 2021.
USA TODAY reached out to social media users who shared the claim for comment.
The Arctic and Antarctic regions of Earth have both land-based ice sheets and sea ice.
Land-based ice sheets rest on landmasses such as Greenland and Antarctica. Sea ice forms over saltwater and grows in extent – size – during the winter and...
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