[en] Net loss of ice from the Greenland Ice Sheet has occurred every year since the late 1990s (Mouginot et al. 2019; Mankoff et al. 2021), contributing to global sea level rise (see section 3f for details). Over the 2025 mass balance year (1 September 2024 to 31 August 2025), three independent estimates find that the ice sheet again lost mass, but at a rate ∼30% less than the 1991–2020 average of roughly −200 Gt annually. These estimates are from input–output (−146±72 Gt), gravity (−129±50 Gt), and elevation (−143±36 Gt) methods; the values agree within measurement uncertainties.
The ice loss can be partitioned into ice discharge (iceberg calving) and surface mass balance (SMB). SMB is the sum of gain from snowfall and refrozen rainfall and loss from runoff, sublimation, and evaporation. Observations of air temperature, precipitation, snow cover, and albedo—key factors that influence SMB—over the 2025 mass balance year are summarized here.
Air temperatures were generally higher than the 1991–2020 average, especially in northern Greenland (Fig. 5.20a). Autumn (September–November 2024) and winter (December–February 2024/25) temperatures were above average, and spring (March–May 2025) brought pronounced warmth across Greenland, with record monthly highs set at 6 out of 34 stations. Summer (June–August 2025) was slightly cooler than average, except in mid-August, when a heatwave raised temperatures, primarily along the west coast.
Research Center/Unit :
SPHERES - ULiège
Disciplines :
Earth sciences & physical geography
Author, co-author :
Andreassen, Liss Marie; Section for Glaciers, Ice and Snow, Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate, Oslo, Norway
Askjaer, Thomas G.; Danish Meteorological Institute, Copenhagen, Denmark
Ballinger, Thomas J.; International Arctic Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska
Berner, Logan T.; School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona
Bernhard, Germar H.; Biospherical Instruments Inc., San Diego, California
Bhatt, Uma S.; Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska
Bigalke, Siiri; Department of Geography, Portland State University, Portland, Oregon
Bjerke, Jarle W.; FRAM – High North Research Centre for Climate and the Environment, Tromsø, Norway ; Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Trondheim, Norway
Bliss, Angela; NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
Box, Jason E.; Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS), Copenhagen, Denmark
Burgess, D.; Geological Survey of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Butler, Amy H.; NOAA Chemical Sciences Laboratory, Boulder, Colorado
Christiansen, Hanne H.; University of the Arctic, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
Crawford, Alex; Department of Environment and Geography, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Decharme, Bertrand; Centre National de Recherches Météorologiques, Météo-France/CNRS, Toulouse, France
Derksen, Chris; Climate Research Division, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Toronto, Canada
Divine, Dmitry; Norwegian Polar Institute, Fram Centre, Tromsø, Norway
Druckenmiller, Matthew L.; National Snow and Ice Data Center, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado
Elias, Chereque; Aleksandra, Department of Physics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
Epstein, Howard E.; Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia
Farrell, Sinead; Department of Geographical Sciences, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland
Fausto, Robert S.; Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS), Copenhagen, Denmark
Fettweis, Xavier ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département de géographie > Climatologie et Topoclimatologie
Hanna, Edward; Department of Geography and Lincoln Climate Research Group, Lincoln, United Kingdom
Hendricks, Stefan; Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, Germany
Ialongo, Iolanda; Finnish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki, Finland
Isaksen, Ketil; Norwegian Meteorological Institute, Oslo, Norway
Jia, Gensuo; Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Johnsen, Bjørn; Norwegian Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority, Østerås, Norway
Kaleschke, Lars; Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, Germany
Kim, Seong-Joong; Korea Polar Research Institute, Incheon, South Korea
Kohler, J.; Norwegian Polar Institute, Fram Centre, Tromsø, Norway
Labe, Zachary M.; Climate Central, Princeton, New Jersey
Lader, Rick; International Arctic Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska
Lakkala, Kaisa; Finnish Meteorological Institute, Sodankylä, Finland
Lara, Mark J.; Department of Plant Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois ; Department of Geography, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois
Lee, Simon H.; School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, United Kingdom
Loomis, Bryant D.; NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
Luks, B.; Institute of Geophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
Luojus, Kari; Arctic Research Centre, Finnish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki, Finland
López-Blanco, E.; Department of Ecoscience, Arctic Research Center, Aarhus University, Roskilde, Denmark
Macander, Matthew J.; Alaska Biological Research, Inc., Fairbanks, Alaska
Magnússon, Rúna Í.; Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation Group, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands
Mankoff, Ken D.; Business Integra, New York, New York ; NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, New York, New York
Medley, Brooke; Cryospheric Sciences Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
Meier, Walter N.; National Snow and Ice Data Center, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado
Montesano, Paul M.; NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
Moon, Twila A.; National Snow and Ice Data Center, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado
Mote, Thomas L.; University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia
Motrøen, Gjelten.; Herdis, Norwegian Meteorological Institute, Oslo, Norway
Mudryk, Lawrence; Climate Research Division, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Toronto, Canada
Natali, S. M.; Woodwell Climate Research Center, Falmouth, Massachusetts
Neigh, Christopher S. R.; NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
Nyland, Kelsey E.; George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia
Orndahl, K. M.; School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona
Overland, James E.; NOAA/OAR Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, Seattle, Washington
Perovich, Donald K.; Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire
Petty, Alek; NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
Phoenix, Gareth K.; School of Biosciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom
Poinar, Kristin; University at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York
Pálsson, F.; Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland
Ricker, Robert; NORCE Norwegian Research Centre, Tromsø, Norway
Romanovsky, Vladimir E.; Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska
Sass, L.; U.S. Geological Survey, Alaska Science Center, Anchorage, Alaska
Schuur, E. A. G.; Center for Ecosystem Science and Society, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona
Serreze, Mark C.; National Snow and Ice Data Center, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado
Smith, Benjamin E.; Polar Science Center, Applied Physics Laboratory, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington ; Editor and Author Affiliations (continued)
Tian-Kunze, Xiangshan; Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, Germany
Timmermans, Mary-Louise; Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
Tømmervik, Hans; FRAM – High North Research Centre for Climate and the Environment, Tromsø, Norway ; Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Trondheim, Norway
Waigl, Christine F.; Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska
Walker, Donald (Skip) A.; Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska
Walsh, John E.; International Arctic Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska
Wang, Muyin; NOAA/OAR Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, Seattle, Washington ; Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean, and Ecosystem Studies, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
Webster, Melinda; Polar Science Center, Applied Physics Laboratory, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
Wolken, G.; University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska ; Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys, Fairbanks, Alaska
Wouters, B.; Department of Geoscience and Remote Sensing, TU Delft, Delft, The Netherlands
Yang, Dedi; Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee ; Editorial and Production Team
Allen, Jessicca; Graphics Support, Cooperative Institute for Satellite Earth System Studies, North Carolina State University, Asheville, North Carolina
Camper, Amy V.; Graphics Support, Innovative Consulting and Management Services, LLC, NOAA/NESDIS National Centers for Environmental Information, Asheville, North Carolina
Carroll, Lauren; Content Team Lead, Communications and Outreach, NOAA/NESDIS National Centers for Environmental Information, Asheville, North Carolina
Crossman, Jacquelyn; NCEI Librarian, MPF-ZAI, NOAA/NESDIS National Centers for Environmental Information, Asheville, North Carolina
Haley, Bridgette O.; Graphics Support, NOAA/NESDIS National Centers for Environmental Information, Asheville, North Carolina
Noguchi, Lukas; Technical Editor, Innovative Consulting and Management Services, LLC, NOAA/NESDIS National Centers for Environmental Information, Asheville, North Carolina
Ohlmann, Laura; Technical Editor, Innovative Consulting and Management Services, LLC, NOAA/NESDIS National Centers for Environmental Information, Asheville, North Carolina
Veasey, Sara W.; Visual Communications Team Lead, Communications and Outreach, NOAA/NESDIS National Centers for Environmental Information, Asheville, North Carolina
