Sea Ice at Russia’s Northern Tip Reaches Highest Level in Six Years

Sea ice thickness in the Arctic Ocean near Cape Chelyuskin on the Taimyr Peninsula measured 145 centimeters at the end of February.

Photo: Wikipedia by DCheretovich, https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

Glaciers

Highest February Reading in Six Years

Alexander Fantalov, a first-category meteorological technician at the E.K. Fedorov Integrated Hydrometeorological Station, said the figure represents the average of four separate measurements taken at different locations.

The result marks the highest ice thickness recorded in the area over the past six years. In 2020, the ice reached 149 centimeters, while in 2019 it measured 148 centimeters.

Recent Years Showed Thinner Ice

During the previous six-year period, ice thickness remained noticeably lower. At the end of February 2022, measurements showed 132 centimeters. In 2023, the figure dropped to 121 centimeters. In both 2024 and 2025, the thickness stood at 125 centimeters.

Earlier, climatologist Nikolai Tereshonok said that the winter of 2026 in Moscow could become the snowiest in the past 60 years.