Antarctica just clocked a record-high temperature of 65 degrees.
The measurement was taken on Thursday at the Esperanza Base along the continent’s Trinity Peninsula, according to the Washington Post. The measurement shattered the previous record of 63.5 degrees, which was taken in March 2015, although it still needs to be officially reviewed and certified. It is summer in the Southern Hemisphere, and this time of year, Antarctica receives its highest temperatures.
The Antarctic Peninsula is warming faster than many places in the world. In the past 50 years, temperatures there have risen 5 degrees, which scientists attribute to climate change. During that same period, 87% of the glaciers on the peninsula’s west coast have retreated.
Eric Steig, a glaciologist studying climate change at the University of Washington, wasn’t entirely surprised by the peak temperature. He also said that it could be broken again soon.
“[This record] doesn’t come as any surprise,” Steig wrote. “Although there is decade-to-decade variability, the underlying trend across most of the continent is warming.”
“That warming has been particularly fast on the Antarctic Peninsula — where Esperanza is — in summer (the season [it’s] now in),” Steig said. “So we can expect these sorts of records to be set again and again, even if they aren’t set every single year.”
Some temperature models predict the region will see temperatures 40 to 50 degrees above average in the next few days.
