Last March, temperatures in East Antarctica were 39 degrees Celsius above normal, which may have been blamed on unusual changes in the air coming from Australia. While scientists say the effects of climate change will be modest for now, further global warming could bring this polar fluctuation dangerously close to melting temperatures.
A recently published study shows that the worst heat wave ever recorded on Earth occurred in Antarctica in March 2022. While large temperature swings are somewhat common at high latitudes, the ongoing effects of climate change may make them more dangerous.
Temperatures at the DomeC station in East Antarctica are usually around minus 54 degrees Celsius (minus 65 degrees Fahrenheit) in March, but temperatures briefly rose to minus 15 degrees Celsius (minus 5 degrees Fahrenheit) last year, surpassing the region's highest summer temperatures. While these temperatures are still low, they represent an unprecedented spike of 39 degrees Celsius (70 degrees Fahrenheit).
Researchers say the heatwave is caused by unusual weather patterns that bring in warm, moist air from Australia. In addition, atmospheric conditions at high latitudes sometimes cause extreme temperature swings in parts of Antarctica, Siberia, and northern North America.
While scientists often infer that climate change will increase the likelihood and severity of extreme weather events, it is likely to cause only a 2 degree Celsius difference in the March 2022 heat wave. That number may seem trivial, but it could rise by 5 or 6 degrees Celsius before the end of the century, bringing similar heat waves in coming decades uncomfortably close to melting temperatures.
Rising sea levels caused by the loss of ice caps is one of the major problems caused by climate change. According to NASA, Antarctica has lost 146 billion tons of ice every year since 2002. Antarctica and Greenland account for two-thirds of the planet's fresh water, and one-third of the rise in global mean sea level since 1993 is caused by ice loss from ocean warming over the past two decades.
In addition, European climatologists say July 2023 will be the hottest month on earth on record. Comprehensive observations and paleoclimate records show that long before the emergence of complex human civilization, the earth has not experienced such a high global average temperature for 120,000 years.
Rising temperatures are not the only measure of human activity pushing the planet beyond the boundaries of human-built agriculture and cities. A recent analysis based on various studies shows that the integrity of the biosphere, freshwater changes, land system shifts and other factors have also changed dramatically since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.