Antarctica Turning Hot with Record Highest Temperature Ever at 18.3 Degree Celsius
Argentina’s Esperanza research base located on the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula has recorded a temperature of 18.3 degrees Celsius, which is highest on record, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has confirmed recently.
A research base in Antarctica has recently recorded the hottest temperature ever in the continent amidst rising concern about the global warming which has already caused an increase in the melting of ice sheets in the South Pole.
Argentina’s Esperanza research base located on the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula has recorded a temperature of 18.3 degrees Celsius, which is highest on record, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has confirmed recently.
WMO spokeswoman Clare Nullis told media in Geneva, “(This) is not a figure you would normally associate with Antarctica even in the summertime. This beats the former record of 17.5 degrees C, which was set back in 2015. The Antarctic Peninsula is among the fastest-warming regions of the planet. We hear a lot about the Arctic, but this particular part of the Antarctic Peninsula is warming very quickly.”
A WMO committee will also verify whether the temperature recorded by Argentina’s national meteorological service is a new record for the Antarctic continent or not. In January 1982, 19.8 degrees Celsius temperature has been recorded in the wider Antarctic region.
Clare Nullis also added, citing images showing cracks in glaciers in Antarctica, “The amount of ice lost annually from the Antarctic ice sheet increased at least six-fold between 1979 and 2017. The melting from these glaciers, you know, means we are in big trouble when it comes to sea level rise.”
The Antarctic region is heating up very rapidly due to heat-trapping gas pollutions from human beings. The warming that is observed in the Antarctic has very serious global implications, especially for the millions of people who are living in the coastal areas across the world, as they are vulnerable to the rise of sea level now.
The Antarctic Peninsula where the record-breaking temperature was measured is one of the fastest-growing warm places on Earth, with the temperature rising nearly 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit in just the last 50 years, according to the WMO.
Recent studies have shown that many of Antarctica’s massive glaciers are rapidly melting due to global warming. And it is serious as Antarctica’s ice sheet contains enough water to raise the global sea levels by nearly 200 feet.
A recent study also found that warm ocean waters are gradually melting the gigantic Thwaites Glacier located in the West Antarctica, which alone has the potential to raise the global sea levels to more than 10 feet.
