News Earth Arctic sea ice hits record low, and keeps going Summer storm and thin ice probably contributed to massive melt By Alexandra Witze August 28, 2012 at 5:04 pm - More than 2 years ago Share this:Share Share via email (Opens in new window) Email Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X Click to print (Opens in new window) Print With weeks still left in the summer melt season, the Arctic Ocean’s floating skin of ice has already shrunk to a record minimum. Arctic sea ice (shown in white) covered 4.10 million square kilometers on August 26, surpassing the previous record low set on September 18, 2007.