The satellite that takes these images is probably in a polar orbit and sees the Antarctic just as well. Why no second opinion from the south pole to confirm thinning ice? I bet because it shows a thickening. Had they been pushing global cooling they would have selected to show Antarctica data instead.
It is apparent from that graph that the yearly average ice cover has only diminished by about 10% since 1978 (about 10.5 million km**2 vs about 9.5 million km**2). Hardly a crisis. We could have a couple of cooler seasons and be right back to normal. Funny how the sun works.