Battering storms caused Antarctic sea ice to shrink at record pace
Extreme weather pattern led to daily loss of nearly South Carolina‒sized chunk
![Antarctica](https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/062317_MT_sea-ice_main.jpg?fit=860%2C460&ssl=1)
MAJOR MELTDOWN Southern Ocean storms in 2016 brought intense, warm winds that broke up Antarctica’s fragile sea ice and hastened its usual springtime melting.
NASA ICE/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)