When it comes to sea ice levels, Antarctica and the Arctic are becoming polar opposites.

As of September 17, Arctic sea ice reached what is likely its minimum extentfor the year, the National Snow & Ice Data Center reported today. This announcement is in stark contrast to Antarctica which continues to expand at a record pace.

Continuing a downward trend for Arctic sea ice, this report marks the sixth-lowest extent record since satellites started measuring the area in 1979.

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Arctic sea ice extent for September 17, 2014 was 5.02 million square kilometers (1.94 million square miles). The orange line shows the 1981 to 2010 average extent for that day. The black cross indicates the geographic North Pole.

(National Snow and Ice Data Center)

September is typically when Antarctic ice reaches its maximum extent, while the Arctic hits its yearly minimum, as the two experience opposite seasons, USA Today reports.

The extent recorded on Sept. 17 dipped to 1.94 million square miles, which is about 400,000 square miles lower than the 1981-2010 yearly average. On Sept. 19, Antarctica's recorded ice extent surpassed 7.72 million square miles.

According to New Scientist, global warming is responsible for Antarctica's booming measurements, ironically.

"In the short term, it seems like there hasn't been much ice loss in the past couple of years, but I think it's still very much within the long-term trend of declining sea ice," Axel Schweiger, chairman of the University of Washington's Polar Science Center told Live Science. "One shouldn't necessarily expect every year to be a record low."

PHOTOS: Arctic Sea Ice

Arctic Sea Ice Shrinks To New Low

The extent of Arctic sea ice on Aug. 26, 2012, the day the sea ice dipped to its smallest extent ever recorded in more than three decades of satellite measurements, according to scientists from NASA and the National Snow and Ice Data Center. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center)