A new twist on climate change? Antarctica adds 100 billion tons of ice

A new study reveals a major shift in climate trends as Antarctica gains over 100 billion tonnes of ice in a single year — a dramatic change from the past decade of steady ice loss. The finding comes from satellite data collected through the GRACE and GRACE-FO missions, which have been tracking ice changes since 2002.

The research, led by Dr Wang and Prof Shen from Tongji University, shows that from 2021 to 2023, Antarctica’s ice sheet, especially in the East Antarctic region, gained mass — a surprising turnaround in global climate data.

This is the first time in decades that such an increase has been recorded. Previously, West Antarctica and the Antarctic Peninsula were losing ice rapidly, contributing to rising sea levels. Scientists are now investigating what caused this sudden shift.