The world’s largest iceberg, A-23A, has finally broken into chunks just days before its 40th birthday.
The iceberg, weighing over a trillion tonnes, was formed from Antarctica’s Filchner Ice Shelf back in 1986 and remained grounded in the seabed for around 34 years before breaking free in 2020.
A-23A was a massive megaberg, around 1,540 square miles, nearly the size of Greater London. It moved around 2,000 miles before finally ending its ocean odyssey.
The slow journey of the iceberg mesmerised scientists around the world. In its final months, significant melting reduced its size to around 66 square miles before disintegration.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced the news of the iceberg’s end in a blog post on Monday, April 13, 2026.
The American space agency wrote: “Antarctic Iceberg A-23A’s journey ends in fragmentation in the South Atlantic Ocean, after a 40-year lifespan documented by satellites.”
Australian Bureau of Meteorology’s Dr Jan Lieser tracked the iceberg using remote sensing.
Talking about its disintegration, Dr Jan said: “I noticed in recent weeks how Mother Nature seemed to keep a veil of clouds over the dying iceberg as if trying to give it some privacy at this stage.”
The final images of the iceberg, taken on April 3, show its tiny fragments floating in the South Atlantic Ocean.
