Arctic melt-season expansion levels off around 2010

A NASA-led study comparing satellite records finds that the Arctic melt season lengthened strongly for decades, then changed much more slowly across most regions from 2010 to 2023, even shortening in some places. The research measures time between melt onset and freeze-up, not sea-ice area or thickness. Warming, ocean heat, winds and regional variation still shape ice loss, so the plateau does not mean climate risk has disappeared.