Antarctic stations record historic maximum temperatures

March 19, 2022

WEC Antarctic Monitoring

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The WEC Weather and Climate Monitoring System reports that this March 2022 was the warmest month at the French Dumont D’Urville, the Russian station Vostok, and the Australian station Casey, among others. Absolute historic maximum temperatures have been registered, recording values well above the average expected for the month, as shown below:

StationOperated byMaximum temperatureHistorical record of the last
VostokRussia-17.7ºC (0,1ºF)64 years
Dumont D’UrvilleFrench+3.4ºC (38.1ºF)70 years
CaseyAustralia+4.1ºC (39.4ºF)33 years
Sources: Synop codes 89642, 89611 and 89606, Meteomanz and BAS Reader

This heat wave reached important regions of Antarctica such as the south magnetic pole, where the Vostok station is located. The lowest temperature ever recorded on Earth was −89.2 °C on July 21, 1983, right at Vostok Station.

Another factor to note is that this heat could affect the emperor penguin colony of Dumont D’Urville, where the documentaries “The March of Penguins” were filmed. The breeding cycle begins in autumn (around April in the Antarctic) when the sea ice re-forms and gets thick enough to support the thousands of penguins. The birds return year after year to the same location. The problem is that Antarctica already has been observing a record negative sea ice thickness; now with this heat wave occurring when the penguins return from the high seas in April, they may not find ice strong and resistant enough to house the new families.