(CNN) – In a year of extreme heat, Antarctica’s last six months were the coldest on record.
“For the period of polar darkness, from April to September, the average temperature was -60.9 degrees Celsius, a record for those months,” reported the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC). ).
The last six months are also the darkest period at the South Pole, which is where the name polar darkness comes from (also called polar night). Here, the sun sets for the last time around the vernal equinox and does not rise again until around the autumnal equinox six months later.
For the entire Antarctic continent, the winter of 2021 was the second coldest on record, with the “June, July and August temperature 3.4 degrees Celsius lower than the 1981 to 2010 average at -62.9 degrees Celsius”, according to a new report of the NSIDC.
“This is the second coldest winter (June-July-August) on record, only behind 2004 in the 60-year meteorological record at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole station, “the NSIDC said.
“The unusual cold was attributed to two prolonged periods of stronger-than-average surrounding winds around the continent, which tend to insulate the ice sheet from warmer conditions,” explained the NSIDC. “A strong polar vortex was also observed in the upper atmosphere, resulting in a significant ozone hole. The ozone hole appears to have peaked from this mark, and initial measurements reported that it is in the quartile top (top 25 percent) of ozone depletion events since 1979 “.
Even in the southern summer months, November through February, it is never really “hot” at the South Pole. The South Pole Amundsen-Scott Station, which stands at an elevation of 2,835 meters, has a average monthly temperature in the austral summer of -28 ° C.
The National Science Foundation (NSF), which administers the U.S. Antarctic program, notes that winter temperatures have had minimal impact on scientific support for the South Pole, as most of the deep field work occurs in the austral summer. However, polar environments remain challenging.
“Everyone adapts to the cold differently, and today’s gear makes it much safer than in the days when Shackleton and the other explorers had little specialized equipment; they only had wool socks and leather shoes to protect their feet! ! ” stated an NSF spokesperson. “All participants in NSF’s United States Antarctic Program (USAP) receive extreme cold weather gear and are trained to recognize the dangers of extreme cold.”
An extremely cold winter is intriguing from a record-keeping standpoint, but one season alone doesn’t change the long-term progression, which is rapid warming.
Weather versus climate
It is important to understand that the weather is different from the weather. Weather is what occurs over shorter periods of time (days to months), such as the seven-day forecast. Climate is what occurs over much longer periods of time, such as several years, or even entire generations.
“An example is a cold snap, which can occur due to sudden changes in atmospheric circulation and may not be related to climate change,” says Tom Slater, a researcher at the Center for Polar Observation and Modeling at the University of Leeds. “Texas is a good example of this; even though some parts experienced extremely cold weather earlier this year when Arctic air was pushed south, the long-term temperature change tells us that Texas is 1, 5 degrees warmer now on average than 100 years ago. That’s the weather. “
Scientists also agree that extreme cold waves have occurred since the 1950s, but climate change will bring many more records of heat than cold.
“In other words, while the world may be warmer than the average as a whole, some areas will continue to see colder temperatures and even severe cold outbreaks,” says Zack Labe, a climate scientist at Colorado State University. “This regional variation is due to the influences of the oceans, mountains, deserts, ice sheets and other geographic features that affect our weather and climate. It is also due to changes in weather patterns that are related to the position of the jet stream, which can vary from day to day or even month to month. “
So this recent stretch of winter from June to August is definitely interesting from a research point of view, but it doesn’t necessarily reflect what Antarctica is doing in the long term.
A great example of this is that while June-August this year may have been quite cold, February of the previous year recorded the new all-time record for the Antarctic continent. On February 6, 2020, the Esperanza Research Station registered a high temperature of 18.3 ° C degrees. This broke the previous record for the Antarctic region (mainland, including the mainland and surrounding islands) of 17.5 ° C recorded in March 2015 at the same season.
“There were thousands and thousands of these penguins in danger because they were very overheated and there was no snow,” told CNN in August Camille Seaman, a photographer who traveled to Antarctica. “They were looking for some little piece of snow or ice to lie on.”
Polar opposites
What happens at one pole does not mean that it is happening at the other.
Thanks to the extreme cold near the South Pole, the extent of Antarctic sea ice has been above average in recent months, peaking in late August, when it reached the fifth highest level in the satellite record.
However, the ice near the North Pole has done the opposite.
The summer of 2021 was relatively cool near the North Pole compared to many recent years, according to the NSIDC, allowing the September ice extent to be the highest since 2014.
However, while it may sound good, keep in mind that the last 15 years (2007 to 2021) have had the 15 lowest ice patches recorded in September.
Arctic sea ice extent in September averaged 4.92 million square kilometers, making it the lowest twelfth in 43 years of records.
It cencourages everywhere, literally
What happens at the poles of the Earth does not mean that it happens all over the world equally.
“Although global temperatures have increased by about 1.1 degrees in the last 150 years on average, different parts of the world have warmed at different rates due to natural variations in the climate system, such as cloud cover, land cover and atmospheric circulation patterns, “Slater said.
“The Earth’s poles have warmed faster than anywhere else, mainly due to melting ice and snow. Although Antarctica has had a cold winter this year, in recent decades the northernmost parts of Antarctica have they have warmed five times faster than the world average – that’s faster than anywhere else in the southern hemisphere. “
Antarctica had a cooler winter, while the rest of the world warmed
While scientists take note of the changes that occur at the Earth’s poles, the greatest danger lies in the most populated continents where people live and work.
“As a climate scientist, I am particularly alarmed by how extreme heat waves, such as the one that affected the Pacific Northwest this summer, are projected to become more common in the future,” Labe said. “But right now we have a great opportunity. We can help reduce the severity and frequency of future extreme heat waves (and climate change in general) by systematically reducing our consumption of fossil fuels.”
The impact on humans and animals occupies a central place in the climate crisis.
“Extreme heat and humidity can pose serious health risks to the people who have to endure them – on average, the world now experiences 14 more days a year with temperatures of 45 ° C than 40 years ago,” explains Slater. “That is why I hope that we will see nations improve their commitments to address climate change at COP26 within a few weeks.”
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