Antarctica Just Hit 64.9 Degrees - Its Highest Temperature Ever Recorded

According to a report published this weekend, the World Meteorological Organization says the Antarctic Peninsula on the continent’s northwest tip is among the fastest warming regions on Earth.

The report, by WKYZ Studios published on February 7, said the UN weather agency “is reporting a temperature that, if confirmed, could amount to a record high for the icy continent”.

“The World Meteorological Organization said Friday the base has recorded 18.3 degrees Celsius (64.9 Fahrenheit) — topping the former record of 17.5 degrees tallied in March 2015.

“WMO says the Antarctic Peninsula on the continent’s northwest tip near South America is among the fastest warming regions on Earth.

“Temperatures there have risen almost 3 degrees Celsius over the last half-century,” the report added.

“Everything we have seen thus far indicates a likely legitimate record but we will of course begin a formal evaluation of the record once we have full data from SMN and on the meteorological conditions surrounding the event,” said WMO’s Weather and Climate Extremes rapporteur, Randal Cerveny.

“The record appears to be likely associated (in the short term) with what we call a regional “foehn” event over the area: a rapid warming of air coming down a slope/mountain,” Cerveny explained. ”

WMO added that “the amount of ice lost annually from the Antarctic ice sheet increased at least six-fold between 1979 and 2017.

Antarctica Outstanding Landscape Natural Beauty, Hope Bay, Trinity Peninsula with the scientific basis Esperanza Argentina in the background – Getty Images