The National Snow & Ice Data Center has warned that Arctic sea ice is at its second-lowest level since satellite observations started in 1979.

As per the Boulder, Colorado-based center, areas of the Arctic Ocean with at least 15 per cent sea-ice now totals at around 1.68 million sq. miles, only better than the record-low of 1.61 million sq. miles recorded in 2007.

The five biggest melts in the 32-year satellite record took place in the last five years, and the melting is still going on.

Speaking on the topic, research scientist Walt Meier said, "We're getting close, but there's still the potential for further loss of ice."

However, Meier added that some areas, such as those near the North Pole, were depicting signs of growth in freezing ice.

The new report by the National Snow & Ice Data Center followed a report by researchers at the Bremen University in Germany, which estimated that ice-coverage across Arctic Ocean dwindled 27,000 sq. kilometers below the previous record low recorded in 2007.

However under either study, ice coverage in the Arctic region has dwindled drastically over recent decades. Scientists are warning that dwindling sea ice will affect climate in the circumpolar north and even lower latitudes very harshly.