NOT NORMAL

Antarctica—Yes, Antarctica—is Having a Record-Smashing Heatwave

A research station thermometer logged the temperature at nearly 65 degrees which smashes a previous record set in 2015.

Antarctica—the coldest place on Earth—has experienced a terrifyingly mild day which has reportedly broken its hottest temperature record. A research station thermometer logged the temperature at 18.3C (64.94F) which smashes the previous record of 17.5C (63.5F,) set back in March 2015. The station’s records stretch back to 1951. Antarctica’s peninsula, which is the part that points up towards South America, is one of the fastest warming places on earth, according to The Guardian. Almost all of the glaciers in the region are melting. Prof James Renwick, a climate scientist at Victoria University of Wellington, said the reading still had to be verified, but it would be consistent with recent temperature rises. He said: “It’s a sign of the warming that has been happening there that’s much faster than the global average. To have a new record set that quickly is surprising but who knows how long that will last? Possibly not that long at all.”