As winter gives way to spring in the Arctic, the region’s lid of floating sea ice is shriveling much more sharply than normal.

According to the National Snow and Ice Data Center’s latest monthly update, published April 3, Arctic sea ice reached its maximum extent on March 13, which marked the end of the winter season. Since then, warming spring temperatures have caused the ice to shrink — and lately, the shrinkage has been record-setting.

Late-March ice losses in the Bering Sea between