Todays Arctic Sea Ice at the NIC is 5.93 million sq km.
In 2007 on this date it was 5.04 million sq km.
The lowest value reached in 2007 was on September 11 at 4.57 million sq km.
(Ron C wanted me to be clearer about that. And Ron was the person who pointed out the NIC exists).
sunshine hours 
A Russian view of the Arctic
“In winter, the newly formed ice actively grows up to a 1.2 meter thick layer, while the costal ice grows up to 2.0 meters. Consequently, the Arctic sea ice layer does not change significantly. Moreover, according to Genrikh Alekseev, in the summer, ice melts in various seas unequally. This year, the seas through which the Northern Shipping Route passes are covered with an unusually thicker ice layer. The Barents Sea is covered by a thin ice layer, but the amount of ice in the Kara, Laptev, East-Siberian and Chukotskiy seas exceeds the level of 2007. The conditions in the Arctic in the warm summer can be considered abnormal, but the Northern Shipping Route has not been completely freed from ice yet. This means icebreakers will be needed in the future, says the scientist.”
“The extreme melting of ice in the summer 2012 is most likely the last gesture that the warming is ending. In fact, ice is a product of climate, and when comparing the graphs of the air temperature and melting ice, one can see that they coincide, Genrikh Alekseev said.”
http://english.ruvr.ru/2012_08_31/Arctic-sea-ice-rejuvenating/