Arctic sea ice reached a near-record low peak for the second consecutive year, according to scientists at NASA and the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC). On March 15, 2026, Arctic sea ice extent hit 5.52 million square miles (14.29 million square kilometers), virtually matching the 2025 peak of 5.53 million square miles (14.31 million square kilometers), which itself had set a record low since satellite monitoring of Arctic sea ice began in 1979. The finding ties the record for the lowest winter maximum extent in the nearly five-decade satellite record. Winter sea ice typically reaches its annual maximum in March before beginning its warm-season melt. The back-to-back record lows mark a concerning trend for a region that scientists consider a key indicator of global climate change. Satellite-based monitoring of Arctic sea ice has been conducted continuously since 1979, providing researchers with a long-term dataset against which current observations are measured. The full analysis was published by NASA and is available at https://science.nasa.gov/uncategorized/arctic-winter-sea-ice-2026/. Note: The source content provided is a partial excerpt, and additional details from the full NASA report were not available for this article. Readers are encouraged to consult the primary source for complete findings, methodology, and scientific context.