That's around 100,000 square kilometers smaller than the previous record,
a statistical tie between 2015 and 2016, and 1.22 million square kilometers smaller than the 1981 to 2010 average.
So it seems quite clear that there is a potential connection, in a
statistical sense,
between human - caused global warming, declining Arctic sea ice, and the anomalous blocking pattern this winter that has added to other factors we know are
tied to human - caused climate change (warmer temperatures and increased soil evaporation, and decreased winter snowpack and freshwater runoff) to produce the unprecedented drought this year in California.