Arctic sea ice extent in April was nearly 394,000 square miles below the long-term average — an area one-and-a-half times the size of Texas.

The Arctic’s floating lid of sea ice continued to decline in April, tying the record set last year for lowest April extent.

This makes it four straight months of record lows in 2017, leaving Arctic sea ice in a precarious state as seasonal warming accelerates with the approach of summer.

According to the latest report from the National Snow a