Antarctica Sees Rare Ice Gain After Decades of Loss — But Don’t Celebrate Yet
After nearly 20 years of steady decline, the Antarctic Ice Sheet (AIS) has recorded a surprising turnaround. Between 2021 and 2023, the continent gained an average of 107.79 gigatonnes of ice per year, according to new satellite data — the first substantial gain in decades.
This unexpected increase is largely attributed to unusually heavy snowfall, which temporarily slowed the pace of global sea-level rise by 0.30 millimeters annually. The findings come from gravity-tracking satellites in NASA’s GRACE and GRACE-FO missions, which measure subtle changes in Earth’s mass to monitor ice dynamics.
But scientists urge caution. This uptick doesn’t signal a long-term recovery. The gain is considered a short-lived anomaly, not a reversal of the broader trend. With climate change driving warmer oceans and rising air temperatures, future snowfall is expected to decrease, while ice melt continues to accelerate.
In short, while the recent ice gain is noteworthy, the climate crisis still threatens the long-term stability of Antarctica—and the planet as a whole.