Antarctica has logged its hottest temperature on record.
The Argentinian Esperanza base thermometer measured an amazing 18.3°C (65°F) on February 6, 2020, beating the previous record by 0.8°C (1,5°F).
Back in 2006, in Antarctica, I can remember walking in t-shirt on the deck of the RV Polarstern. And that over a few days. It was in February too during the southern hemisphere summer seaon. And yesterday, February 6, an amazing temperature of more than 18°C (65°F) was mesured at Esperanza on the northern tip of the continent’s peninsula. This reading beats Antarctica’s previous record of 17.5°C, set in March 2015.
#Antártida | Nuevo récord de temperaturas ?️
— SMN Argentina (@SMN_Argentina) February 6, 2020
Este mediodía la Base #Esperanza registró un nuevo récord histórico (desde 1961) de temperatura, con 18,3°C. Con este valor se supera el récord anterior de 17,5°C del 24 en marzo de 2015. Y no fue el único récord… pic.twitter.com/rhKsPFytCb
The Esperanza reading breaks the record for the Antarctic continent.
The record for the Antarctic region – that is, everywhere south of 60 degrees latitude – is 19.8°C, taken on Signy Island in January 1982.
No Link to Global Warming
“The reading is impressive as it’s only five years since the previous record was set and this is almost one degree centigrade higher. It’s a sign of the warming that has been happening there that’s much faster than the global average.“
As a scientists told The Guardian, the higher temperatures in the region tended to coincide with strong northwesterly winds moving down mountain slopes – a feature of the weather patterns around Esperanza in recent days. Sot it’s a combination of natural variations and Earth changes.
As shown in one of my previous articles, Antarctica is retreating across the seafloor. Ocean melting may a piece of the puzzle, but scientists always forget to talk about how volcanic and ‘geothermic’ Antarctica really is. But geothermal heat probably is not the only reason behind the melting as on the surface of the white continent, ice seems to disappear due to changing wind patterns. So either from above or below the ice melts and the situation won’t get better.
The lowest temperature ever recorded in Antarctica – and anywhere on Earth – was at the Russian Vostok station, when temperatures dropped to -89.2°C (-128,6°F) on 21 July, 1983.
To have a new temperature record set that quickly in Antarctica is surprising but who knows how long that will last? Possibly not that long at all. We are entering a mini ice age… Let’s wait until the next southern hemisphere winter and we should see some freezing temperatures record make the alternative news websites’ headlines. Read about similar news stories about on Strange Sounds and Steve Quayle. [The Guardian]
