Celebrate Arctic Sea Ice Day with belugas, bears and more

On July 15th – Arctic Sea Ice Day – Polar Bears International brings the return of Beluga Cam, streaming the annual migration of 57,000 belugas through Canada’s Hudson Bay. Joining EarthSky’s Will Triggs to discuss Beluga Cam, as well as how arctic sea ice levels affect belugas and polar bears, is Alysa McCall, Director of Conservation Outreach and Staff Scientist at Polar Bears International. Watch live today, July 15, at 12:15 CDT (17:15 UTC).

It’s Arctic Sea Ice Day!

The nonprofit organization Polar Bears International, headquartered in Montana and Manitoba, has declared July 15, 2025, Arctic Sea Ice Day. Their aim is to raise awareness about the importance of sea ice for our climate and Arctic inhabitants. The executive director of Polar Bears International, Krista Wright, said:

Sea ice is essential for polar bears, belugas and, ultimately, all of us. It forms the foundation of the Arctic ecosystem and regulates Earth’s climate. We hope Arctic Sea Ice Day inspires people to protect this incredible part of our planet. Every degree – and every decision – matters.

How to participate

Beluga whales are adapted to the icy waters of the north, but in the summer, when Arctic ice melts, about two-thirds of the world’s 150,000 beluga whales head south. In warmer waters, including Hudson Bay in Canada, they feed, molt and give birth. Polar Bears International runs a Beluga Boat with attached Beluga Cams in Hudson Bay. These cameras livestream for views above and below the water. There’s even a hydrophone audio so you can hear the whales’ calls.

That’s where you come in. Anyone can help the scientists who study these whales by monitoring the live cam feeds. If you see a whale, snap a photo! In cooperation with Explore.org (which you may recognize from the Katmai Bear Cams). The Beluga Cam operates in July and August and it will go live at 11 a.m. CDT (16:00 UTC) on July 15, 2025.

You can also help classify the beluga photos with the Beluga Bits citizen science project. In this project, you help identify what parts of the belugas you see in the images and if there are any identifying marks. Polar Bears International said:

Over 34,000 volunteers have logged around 950,000 beluga classifications to date, helping researchers understand belugas, which are otherwise difficult to study given their remote habitat. In past years, Beluga Bits volunteers even spotted two jellyfish species never before recorded in Hudson Bay.

Beluga cams here!

This year’s Arctic sea ice

According to NASA, the extent of Arctic sea ice shrinks by about 12.2% per decade. Hudson Bay, which also becomes covered with sea ice in winter, started to melt relatively early this year. Scientists who track polar bears with GPS said they’re already arriving at their summer grounds near Churchill.

Flavio Lehner is the chief climate scientist at Polar Bears International and assistant professor in Earth and Atmospheric Science at Cornell University. Lehner said that by late July, Hudson Bay will have melted out completely for the year. And the sea ice that is still there has already broken up into many small ice floes. And Lehner said:

This year’s broken, thinner ice reflects the long-term impacts of warming. And while some bears can still hunt, it’s increasingly difficult to rely on this habitat. These shifts are part of a larger, long-term pattern. But the good news is we still have time to act. We need bold, system-wide changes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, from local communities to global leadership. Every fraction of a degree we prevent through climate action makes a real difference, for the Arctic and for us all.

Bottom line: Arctic Sea Ice Day is today, July 15, 2025. And you can participate! Snap pics from a Beluga Boat with attached live cams and classify the whale bits you see.

Via Polar Bears International