Environment & Energy
Related: About this forumEast Antarctic Temperatures 50F Above Late Winter Avg.; South Pole Station July 11F Above Monthly Average
Ground temperatures in East Antarctica have soared more than 50 degrees (28 Celsius) above normal in the second major heat wave to afflict the region in the past two years. This historic warm spell could persist for another 10 days and is an ominous example of the major temperature spikes this polar climate could experience more frequently in a warming world.
This heat wave is a near-record (or record) event for the region of Antarctica its having the biggest impact on, Edward Blanchard, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Washington, said in an email. The heat waves large footprint is also remarkable, as it covers a large section of East Antarctica, which makes up most of the continent.
The heat wave comes in the middle of the Antarctic winter, so temperatures are still hovering around minus-4 (minus-20 Celsius). Still, the Antarctic temperature anomaly is the largest on the globe, according to weather models. Temperatures are expected to remain up to 36 to 50 degrees (20 to 30 Celsius) above average in parts of East Antarctica for the next 10 days. They have been substantially above average for most of July, but not as high as they are now. Last week, they climbed to 20 degrees (12 Celsius) above average.
The South Pole station will clinch its warmest July since 2002, about 11 degrees (6.3 Celsius) above average, according to Antarctic temperature analyst Stefano Di Battista. From July 20 to 30, the average temperature at the station was minus-54 (minus-47.6 Celsius), which is a typical temperature for the end of February the end of summer in Antarctica. Vostok, at the center of the eastern ice sheet, will see its warmest July since 2009 at around 12 degrees (6.5 Celsius) above average.
EDIT
https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2024/07/31/antarctica-heat-wave-warming-climate/
Tadpole Raisin
(1,379 posts)Well Florida residents wont be happy, or any residents of other low coastal regions.
50 degrees above normal? Damn!!
OKIsItJustMe
(20,422 posts)(This is not just East Antarctica.)
Black dashed lines = past averages.
Grey lines = individual years
Orange line = 2023
Red line = 2024 (to date)
https://climatereanalyzer.org/clim/t2_daily/?dm_id=antarctic
OKIsItJustMe
(20,422 posts)Note the scale, portions of Antarctica are 50°F above average, portions are 30°F below average:
https://climatereanalyzer.org/clim/t2_daily/?dm_id=antarctic
Brenda
(1,310 posts)and buy a beachfront house for a bargain along the US coastline!
It's getting to be almost criminal for those kinds of shows and the same for realtors/developers who keep pushing for people, especially new retirees to move to the coasts, especially Florida and southeastern coasts.