NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information
Northern Hemisphere Snow Cover Extent
| November 2022 | Snow Cover Extent | Anomaly 1991-2020 | Trend per decade | Rank (57 years) | Record | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| million km² | million mi² | million km² | million mi² | million km² | million mi² | Year(s) | million km² | million mi² | |||
| Northern Hemisphere | 37.75 | 14.58 | +2.70 | +1.04 | +0.51 | +0.20 | Largest | 4th | 1993 | 38.60 | 14.90 |
| Smallest | 54th | 1979 | 28.28 | 10.92 | |||||||
| North America | 15.25 | 5.89 | +1.38 | +0.53 | +0.20 | +0.08 | Largest | 3rd | 2018 | 15.72 | 6.07 |
| Smallest | 55th | 1979 | 11.48 | 4.43 | |||||||
| Eurasia | 22.49 | 8.68 | +1.31 | +0.51 | +0.31 | +0.12 | Largest | 11th | 1993 | 24.13 | 9.32 |
| Smallest | 47th | 1979 | 16.80 | 6.49 | |||||||
Data Source: Global Snow Laboratory, Rutgers University. Period of record: 1966–2022 (57 years)
The Northern Hemisphere snow cover extent for November 2022 was 37.75 million square kilometers (14.58 million square miles), which is 2.70 million square kilometers (1.04 million square miles) above the 1991-2020 average.
This ranks as the fourth-largest Northern Hemishere November snow extent on record.
The North America and Greenland snow cover extent was 15.25 million square kilometers (5.89 million square miles), which is 1.38 million square kilometers (530,000 square miles) above the 1991-2020 average. This ranks as the third-largest snow cover extent for North America on record.
Above-average November snow cover extent was observed across the southwestern Alaska, the U.S. Northwest, the Northern Rockies, the northern Great Plains region, and central and eastern Canada.
Eurasia also had an above average snow cover extent for November at 22.49 million sq kilometers (8.68 million square miles), which is 1.31 million square kilometers (510,000 square miles) above the 1991-2020 average. This ranks as the 11th-largest November snow cover extent on record.
Across the regions, snow cover was below-average across parts of southeastern Europe, Turkey, and the South Caucasus. Above-average snow cover extent was observed most of Russia and northeastern China, as well as across parts of Scandinavia, northeastern Europe, Kyrgyzstan, and eastern Kazakhstan.
Sea Ice Extent
The sea ice extent data for the Arctic and Antarctic are provided by the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) and are measured from passive microwave instruments onboard NOAA Satellites. The sea ice extent period of record is from 1979–2022 for a total of 44 years.
| November 2022 | Sea Ice Extent | Anomaly 1991-2020 | Trend per decade | Rank (44 years) | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| million km² | million mi² | Year(s) | million km² | million mi² | |||||
| Northern Hemisphere | 9.73 | 3.76 | -4.04% | -4.93% | Largest | 37th | 1982 | 11.63 | 4.49 |
| Smallest | 8th | 2016 | 8.66 | 3.34 | |||||
| Southern Hemisphere | 15.16 | 5.85 | -4.47% | -0.32% | Largest | 38th | 2013 | 16.87 | 6.51 |
| Smallest | 7th | 2016 | 14.22 | 5.49 | |||||
| Globe | 24.89 | 9.61 | -4.31% | -2.11% | Largest | 40th | 1980 | 27.51 | 10.62 |
| Smallest | 5th | 2016 | 22.88 | 8.83 | |||||
Data Source: National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC). Period of record: 1979–2022 (44 years)
Globally, November 2022 saw the fourth-lowest November sea ice extent on record. Only the Novembers of 2016, 2017, and 2019 had smaller global sea ice extents.
The Arctic sea ice extent for November 2022 ranked as the eighth-smallest in the satellite record at 9.71 million square kilometers (3.75 million square miles). This was 430,000 square kilometers (165,000 square miles)—about the size of Sweden—below the 1991-2020 average.
Sea ice extent was below average across the Barents, Bering, Chukchi, Greenland, and Kara seas, the Sea of Okhotsk, and the Hudson Bay. The central Arctic and East Siberian sea had near-normal November extents, whereas Baffin Bay and the Sea of Japan had slightly-above-average sea ice extents for the month.
The November 2022 Antarctic sea ice extent of 15.06 million square kilometers (5.81 million square miles) was about 810,000 square kilometers (313,000 square miles) below the 1991-2020 average. This ranks as the fifth-smallest November extent in the 44-year record. Only November 1986, 2016, 2019, and 2021 had smaller sea ice extents.