the Arctic 2025: The Arctic Today
The Arctic Today
						
							
								4 Apr 1949 North Atlantic Treaty
							
						
							
								17 Aug 1977 Nuclear Standoff
							
						
							
								12 Mar 2015 Climate Change
							
						
							
								15 Jan 2025 The Arctic Today
							
						
					
				The past few years have seen the continued decline of Arctic sea ice, with sea ice extents reaching record or near-record lows every summer. Low sea ice levels have contributed to both extreme weather events and ecosystem collapse in the northern regions, and opened up the Arctic for increased shipping. In August 2017 a Russian tanker completed the Northern Sea Route without icebreakers—the first ship to do so in history—and a year later the cargo ship Venta Maersk became the first commercial ship to make the route.