In an unexpected twist to recent climate narratives, NASA satellites have shown Antarctica has gained ice, despite rising global temperatures.
Using data from NASA satellites, a team of scientists from Tongji University in China, led by Dr. Wei Wang and Professor Yunzhong Shen, found that between 2021 and 2023, regions of East Antarctica saw an average annual ice sheet mass increase of 108 gigatons- the equivalent to 1.2bn Boeing 737 aircrafts.
Their findings, published in China Earth Sciences, defies a longstanding trend of ice loss across the continent, showing a significant contrast to the 147 gigaton annual ice loss recorded across Antarctica from 2010 to 2020.
The increase in ice mass occurred despite this period overlapping with some of the hottest years on record globally. Using data from the GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) and GRACE-FO (GRACE Follow-On) satellite missions, the researchers identified four major glacier basins (Totten, Moscow University, Denman, and Vincennes) as the main contributors to this ice gain.
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Unusually high precipitation, such as rain, sleet and snow, are believed to be the key driver of this anomaly. According to the study, the additional ice build-up may have helped slow the pace of sea-level rise, potentially offsetting around 0.3 millimetres of annual increase- roughly a quarter of the yearly sea-level rise observed in the previous decade.
Antarctic Ice Sheet Shift from 2021- 2023 – credit Science China Press
However, scientists are urging caution when it comes to future predictions. “We can’t say whether this trend has continued into 2025,” said Dr. Wang. “Given that the precipitation patterns were exceptional, it’s unclear if such gains are sustainable.”
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While the discovery offers a rare glimmer of positive news amid growing climate concerns, researchers emphasize that one short-term anomaly does not reverse the long-term trajectory of polar ice decline.
The scientific community will be watching closely to see whether this recent pattern holds, or melts away.
