This visualization shows the annual maximum amount of winter Arctic ice from 1979 to 2006. In 2005 and 2006, the winter ice maximum was about 6% smaller than the average winter ice over the 26 year period. The expected winter ice retreat is 1.5 to 2% loss per decade. The same data is also shown with a yellow region representing the cumulative or maximum extent of winter ice observed from 1979 to 2006.