Antarctica’s summer temps in 2015 has the internet going crazy
Pack your shorts, sunscreen and hat. Antarctica has recorded a new temperature high of 17.5C (63.5F).
Yep.That’s according to a reading by the World Meteorological Organization — the UN weather agency — which found the record temperature on March 24 2015, following a recent data review at Argentina’s Esperanza base.
To put this into perspective, the annual mean temperature at the South Pole in winter is -60C (-76F) and -28.2C (-18F) in summer according to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
Naturally, the internet is pretty scared:
With a lot of comparisons to other parts of the world.
Just to be clear, Antarctica has recorded temperature highs before. On Jan 30 1982, the heat record for the broader Antarctic region was 19.8°C (67.6°F); and on Dec 28 1980 the warmest temperature recorded on the Antarctic plateau was -7.0°C (19.4°F).
That’s not to say balmy temps are a regular occurrence. Antarctic sea ice is at a record low; and right now, a giant crack in Antarctica is forming, and if it breaks, it could release a country-sized iceberg.
But amongst all the doom and gloom, there is hope.
In October last year, after years of campaigning, the world’s largest marine protected area was established off Antarctica, making it a huge victory for the whales, penguins, and toothfish that live there and the millions of people standing up to protect our oceans.
And its northerly cousin, the Arctic, is slowly edging closer to greater protection. With your help, we’re taking Arctic oil to court to stop oil companies from kidnapping our future; and major companies like Shell have abandoned drilling operations.
If anything, this revelation about Antarctica will help us protect the bottom of the world and all its inhabitants. Otherwise, we’ll have to start checking off our “bucket lists” before we sink.
Shuk-Wah Chung is a Writer and Content Editor for the Communications Hub at Greenpeace East Asia. Follow her on Twitter here.
