Antarctica may have set an all-time heat record after daytime temperatures soar
Digital Reporter
Saturday, March 28, 2015, 3:41 PM - It is an area of the world synonymous with an endless winter landscape; barren, snow-covered and cold.
But this week saw a notable exception to typical conditions in Antarctica.
An unusually warm temperature of 17.5 degrees Celsius was reported at the Esperanza base on the Antarctic peninsula on March 24.
If the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) verifies that temperatures did indeed soar that high, it would set a new record for the entire continent.
The current record was set on January 5, 1974, when a temperature high of 15 degrees was recorded at the Vanda Station, another Antarctic research base.
Esperanza base, Hope Bay, Antarctic peninsula
The Esperanza base is a permanent, year-round Argentine research center and one of only two civilian settlements on the icy continent.
Balmy conditions at Esperanza came just one day after a similar spell was recorded at Base Marambio, another Argentine station located on the same peninsula.
While the recent warm spell would be feasible in summer, it is currently fall on the continent.
When it comes to the Antarctic, confirming a temperature record is a bit of a lengthy process.
Located in Geneva, Switzerland, the WMO is the official governing body responsible for maintaining a database of global temperature records.
The WMO must first establish that the equipment used to monitor temperatures was in working order at the time of the supposed warm-up. This alone could take several months.
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If officials confirm that a new record was set, the information could serve as an ominous milestone for the Earth's most desolate continent.
This news comes in the same week a study was published indicating that the Antarctic ice sheet is is melting at an accelerated pace.
The event of rising temperatures and deteriorating ice shelves could lead experts to re-evaluate their projections on the future impact of rising global sea levels.
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