Melting sea ice makes Arctic shipping routes passable
Shipping routes that would have previously been iced over for much of the year are now opening up because of rising temperatures. The Northern Sea Route shortens the sailing time between Asia and Europe to around two weeks, approximately half the time it takes via the traditional Suez Canal route.
Pacific
Ocean
Arctic
Circle
Northwest
Passage
1981–2010
Median
Sept. ice extent
CANADA
Average
sea ice extent
Sept. 2025
US
RUSSIA
Northern
Sea Route
Ottawa
GREENLAND
Transpolar
Proposed future
shipping route
Washington D.C.
NORWAY
Reykjavík
Moscow
Iceland
Oslo
UK
Atlantic
Ocean
Denmark
London
Pacific
Ocean
Arctic
Circle
1981–2010
Median
Sept. ice extent
Northwest
Passage
Average
sea ice extent
Sept. 2025
US
RUSSIA
CANADA
Northern
Sea Route
Ottawa
GREENLAND
Transpolar
Proposed future
shipping route
Washington D.C.
NORWAY
Reykjavík
Iceland
Moscow
Oslo
UK
Atlantic
Ocean
Denmark
London
Pacific
Ocean
US
Alaska
Northwest
Passage
Northern
Sea Route
China
Average
sea ice extent
Sept. 2025
CANADA
RUSSIA
UNITED
STATES
1981–2010
Median
Sept. ice extent
Ottawa
GREENLAND
Washington D.C.
NORWAY
Iceland
Reykjavík
Moscow
Atlantic
Ocean
Oslo
Transpolar
Proposed future
shipping route
UK
Denmark
London
