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Pictured here is a young polar bear sitting on the shore in southern Beaufort Sea, Alaska. In some parts of the Arctic, sea ice loss is causing polar bears to spend longer periods on shore each summer. Polar bears depend on sea ice for nearly all aspects of their life, including hunting, traveling and breeding.
Satellites from NASA and other agencies have been tracking sea ice changes since 1979, and the data show that Arctic sea ice has been shrinking at an average rate of about 20,500 square miles (53,100 square kilometers) per year over the 1979-2015 period. Currently, the status of polar bear subpopulations is variable; in some areas of the Arctic, polar bear numbers are likely declining, but in others, they appear to be stable or possibly growing.Image credit: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/Eric Regehr
