A new data set based on weekly sea-ice concentrations, evaluated from several different data sources, reveals a marked decrease in sea-ice area in the Nordic Seas by almost 15% (4.1% per decade) during the period from January 1967 to December 2002. The sea-ice area seems to have interannual variability with a period of 9-10 years. At the present time, this variability is characterized by a negative anomaly, manifested by the record-low summer sea-ice area in 2002. All seasons undergo a reduction in sea-ice area during the period, with largest percentage decrease in autumn and smallest in spring. Variability is largest in the Greenland Sea during winter and spring and in the Barents and western Kara Seas during summer and autumn.