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How much of Earth’s land area was covered by glaciers during major Pleistocene glaciations?

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Map showing the extent of the Laurentide, Cordilleran, and Greenland ice sheets during the Wisconsin glaciation, roughly 100,000 to 11,000 years ago. The Laurentide Ice Sheet covers most of present-day Canada and parts of the northern United States in light blue, the Cordilleran Ice Sheet covers the Pacific Northwest in teal, and the Greenland Ice Sheet is marked in purple. Modern international and state or provincial boundaries are outlined for reference. — Pleistocene Epoch Ice sheets during the Wisconsin glacial episode penetrated deep into North America.

During periods of extensive glaciation in the Pleistocene Epoch, more than 45 million square kilometers (approximately 17.4 million square miles) of Earth’s surface was covered by glaciers. This area accounted for about 30 percent of the planet's total land area.1

In contrast, during the last glacial maximum—the most recent interval of peak glacial extent—it is estimated that roughly 8 percent of the planet's total surface was covered in ice.2