Arctic sea ice likely reached its 2019 minimum extent of 1.60 million square miles (4.15 million square kilometers) on Sept. 18, tied for second lowest summertime extent in the satellite record, according to NASA and the National Snow and Ice Data Center. The Arctic sea ice cap is an expanse of frozen seawater floating on top of the Arctic Ocean and neighboring seas. Every year, it expands and thickens during the fall and winter and grows smaller and thinner during the spring and summer. But in the past decades, increasing temperatures have caused marked decreases in the Arctic sea ice extents in all seasons, with particularly rapid reductions in the minimum end-of-summer ice extent. The shrinking of the Arctic sea ice cover can ultimately affect local ecosystems, global weather patterns, and the circulation of the oceans.

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Music: Hiraeth by Anthony Edwin Phillips [PRS], James Edward Collins

- The Joint Norwegian-Russian Commission on Environmental Protection.
- Смешанная Норвежско - Российская Комиссия по сотрудничеству в области охраны окружающей среды.

The Barents Sea is a large marine ecosystem that borders Norway and Russia.It is located on the North European continental shelf between 70 degrees and 80 degrees north and includes the Svalbard archipelago to the Northwest and the Novaya Zemlya archipelago to the east. It covers an area of approximately 1.6 million square kilometers. It is a shallow sea with an average depth of 230 meters and a maximum depth of about 500 meters at the western entrance. It is a change zone for warm and saline water on its way from the Atlantic to the Arctic Ocean, and for cold and less saline water en route from the Arctic to the Atlantic. Russia and Norway are strong maritime nations that share enormous natural resources available in the Barents Sea.

- The Joint Norwegian-Russian Commission on Environmental Protection.
- Смешанная Норвежско - Российская Комиссия по сотрудничеству в области охраны окружающей среды.

Norway and Russia have common borders in the Barents Sea and share a rich and healthy marine ecosystem. Thus, both countries are jointly responsible for sustainably managing the marine environment. The Barents Sea ecosystem supports large numbers of seabirds, fish, marine mammals and other marine life. Russia and Norway maintain considerable fishery activity in this part of the ocean. The Norwegian Ministry of Climate and Environment and the Russian Natural Resources and Environment Ministry are leading the work.

- The Joint Norwegian-Russian Commission on Environmental Protection.
- Смешанная Норвежско - Российская Комиссия по сотрудничеству в области охраны окружающей среды.

Environmental cooperation between Russia and Norway is based on an agreement made in 1992.  Norwegian and Russian politicians, managers and researches meet annually in the Joint Norwegian-Russian Environmental Commission to discuss environmental issues and to adopt or review the commission’s work programme. Today, the main purposes of the cooperation are to contribute to the comprehensive, ecosystem-based management of the entire Barents Sea, and to update and improve our ecological knowledge base for the area. Key projects are joint understanding of ecological status and trends, identification of valuable and vulnerable areas throughout the year, and cooperative environmental monitoring.