According to a report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the Antarctic Peninsula (the extreme northwest near South America) is among the fastest warming regions on earth, with nearly 3.0 degrees Celsius (°C) over the past 50 years.
The organization, citing data compiled by the United States’ National Ice and Snow Data Center, links the occurrence of unusual phenomena in the area to the decrease in minimum sea ice extent below two million square kilometers for the first time since satellite records began in the year 1979.
In the third week of March, he said, research stations in East Antarctica recorded unprecedented temperatures.
Vostok reached a temporary maximum of -17.7 °C in the middle of the ice plateau, exceeding the previous mark of -32.6 °C, it said.
The Russian station, at 3,420 meters above sea level, holds the official record for the world’s lowest temperature of -89.2 °C, according to the WMO Archive of Weather and Climate Extremes.
Dome Concordia (Dome C), a Franco-Italian research center also in the highlands, recorded the highest increase in each month, about 40℃ above the March average.
From this enclave they reported the occurrence of precipitation, deepening the report, a very rare event in Antarctica and with serious consequences for ecosystems, especially for penguin colonies, and for the mass balance of the ice cap.
The WMO also drew attention to the detachment of the Conger Ice Shelf in East Antarctica on March 15, which is modeled on the size of the city of Rome or New York.
The agency then warned that the Antarctic ice sheet is up to 3 miles thick and contains 90 percent of the world’s freshwater, enough to raise sea levels by about 200 feet if it were to melt.
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