After the peak of the summer melt, the sun is falling in the sky, the nights are getting longer, and the ice is coming back to the sea in the Arctic basin. The averaged October Arctic sea ice extent is the fourth lowest since the satellite measurement era began, but the trend is still down for this time of year, as it is for every time of year.
http://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/files/2017/11/monthly_ice_10_NH_v3.0-350×270.png