A research station in Antarctica recorded a temperature of -84.1°C on July 18, the lowest temperature on Earth since 2012, according to Smithsonian Magazine.
The reading came from the Concordia station, which sits atop a 3,300-meter-thick ice sheet on the Antarctic Plateau, more than 965 kilometers from the nearest coast. The station recorded the lowest temperature ever measured on Earth in 2010, at -84.7°C.
Scientists at Concordia are used to extreme cold, but even they described the recent reading as striking and said it showed how variable Antarctic weather can be.
An almost 100-degree swing
The record cold came just weeks after another part of Antarctica saw the opposite extreme. Argentina's Esperanza base on the Trinity Peninsula recorded 15.4°C on June 6, a record high winter temperature, during a heat spell in which temperatures stayed above zero for three weeks straight. Together, the two readings represent a swing of nearly 100 degrees.
Raúl Cordero, a climatologist at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, said the Esperanza reading was absolute madness, roughly 20°C above normal for that time of year, calling it a huge anomaly.
Scientists say the extreme cold at one Antarctic site does not contradict the broader picture of global warming. The continent is losing ice and the surrounding Southern Ocean is warming, changes that affect animals such as Antarctic krill, penguins and Antarctic fur seals.
The unusual Antarctic weather comes as parts of North America and Europe face intense heat, drought and destructive wildfires, which scientists say are being worsened by human-caused climate change. Johan Rockström, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, said 2026 is only the beginning, that the situation will keep getting worse until humanity reaches the limits of its ability to adapt.
