Antarctica Gets A Record High Temperature; Know The Facts and Figures; How Will This Affect Mankind?
The Antarctic continent has a recorded a new temperature record this time at 17.5°C (63.5°F). According to the press release of World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the highest temperature in Antarctic continent is reported in Esperanza, an Argentine Research Base located close to the northern edge of the Antarctic Peninsula. The report further says that the temperature was recorded on Mar. 24, 2015.
It should be noted that when it says about Antarctic continent, it just refers to the landmass of the region. But when it comes to Antarctic region, the highest temperature is observed as 67.6 F (19.8 C) on Jan. 30, 1982 at Signy Research Station which is located near Borge Bay on Signy Island. Also, the highest at the Antarctic Plateau above 8,200 feet, or 2,500 meters was marked 19.4 F (-7 C) on Dec. 28, 1989, at the automatic weather station named D-80 set up at Adelie Coast inland.
These records are telling the fact that the recent temperature variations in the region are becoming drastic. It should be noted that the average temperature variance from coastal areas of the region to the most interior parts are 14 F and -76 F. Since the climate is defined by the Polar region, the recent abnormalities are a real concern. "Due to the sensitivity of the climate in the polar regions, if any changes in the global environment can be first observed in both northern and southern polar regions," said Randy Cerveny, the geographical science professor at Arizona State University.
It is known that Antarctic continent contains the 90 percent of fresh water in the earth in the form of ice and it is up to 3 miles thick in many places. Research by WMO found that if these icebergs melt completely, it can raise the sea-level by at least 60 meters or 200 feet. It is high-time to initiate action plans like Paris climate change ratification and more. Do the political leaders listen to these stories?
