Published on Sep. 16, 2025, 7:20 PM
Updated on Sep. 16, 2025, 7:29 PM
An iceberg that was once labelled as the biggest in the world has been breaking apart in the Southern Ocean–to such an extent that it no longer holds that title, according to the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA) and the British Antarctic Survey (BAS).
Leaders often lose their position at the top, and that doesn’t just apply to sports, weather, military or government.
In this case, it refers to an iceberg called A23a. The massive ‘berg was once roughly the size of Rhode Island, accumulating a weight of close to one trillion metric tonnes, holding the title of the world’s biggest slab of ice for most of its time since first breaking off of Antarctica’s Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf in 1986.
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However, that is no longer the case. According to a new report from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), A23a has undergone significant shrinkage in recent months–losing about 80 per cent of its mass since May, scientists with the organization said.
“The iceberg is rapidly breaking up, and shedding very large chunks, themselves designated large icebergs by the U.S. National Ice Center that tracks these,” Andrew Meijers, an oceanographer at BAS, told CNN in an email last week.
Iceberg A23a no longer holds the distinction of being the world’s largest. (Getty Images/Juergen Brand/1942436797-170667a)
Losing size at a rapid pace since May
According to CNN, A23a carried a weight of close to one trillion metric tonnes in January, measuring 3,672 square kilometres. Fast forward to September, and the mega-sized iceberg has been dethroned from its No. 1 status as the world’s largest. It now measures just 1,700 square kilometres, or roughly 20 per cent of its original size from the beginning of the year.