In my opinion, there are few things scarier in our world right now than the drastic climate change we’re seeing and how it affects places as far flung as Antarctica. So the news that the continent recently experienced its hottest day EVER is causing me even more anxiety.
Yes, Argentina’s Esperanza Base, at the very northern tip of Antarctica, recorded a temperature of 65 degrees Fahrenheit.
Animation of T850 in °C (temperature at 850hPa) showing this heat wave over the Antarctic Peninsula. This will be followed tomorrow by an interesting foehn event according to GFS. https://t.co/IbZ2KFKuxM pic.twitter.com/J195ZAw1lY
— Xavier Fettweis (@xavierfettweis) February 7, 2020
The previous high temperature for Antarctica was 63.5 degrees in March 2015.
Alexandra Isern, head of Antarctic sciences at the National Science Foundation, said that the Antarctic Peninsula is “one of the fastest warming areas on the planet.”
Even more distressing, the recording in Antarctica came after the hottest January on record.
#Antártida | Nuevo récord de temperaturas
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
— SMN Argentina (@SMN_Argentina) February 6, 2020
The text of that tweet translates to…
#Antarctica | New temperature record
This noon the Base #Esperanza recorded a new historical record (since 1961) of temperature, with 18.3 ° C. This value exceeds the previous record of 17.5 ° C on March 24, 2015. And it was not the only record …
This is all part of a cycle that could have major repercussions for the planet. The warmer temperatures mean warmer seawater, which means more melting glaciers and rising sea levels all over the world: and that leads to even further warming.
Images out of a northern region of Antarctica show a landscape nearly devoid of ice and snow after record-setting temperatures last week.
It hit nearly 65 degrees on the Antarctic peninsula, according to Argentina's national meteorological service. https://t.co/tLQWvs2hN1 pic.twitter.com/n7kI3nx2Un
— ABC News (@ABC) February 13, 2020
Randall Cerveny of the World Meteorological Organization says,
“When I started this project all the way back in 2007, I thought we would have maybe an evaluation once every few years.
Now we’re having MULTIPLE observations of extreme climate every year.”
A scary sign, to be sure.
What do you think about this? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below, please!
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