It’s Minus 86 Degrees In Antarctica
It’s Minus 86 Degrees In Antarctica
While temperatures boil at over 110 degrees F, it is minus 86 degrees in Antarctica at Dome A. Dome A is a weather station so far south that there is no sun for several days. And it can get much colder than today. The mercury drops to below minus 100 degrees on a close-to-regular basis. By contrast, it is over 110 degrees in Phoenix and Las Vegas.
Dome A, aka Dome Argus, is the highest ice dome on the Antarctic Plateau, about 1,000 miles inland. It is thought to have been described as the coldest place on Earth. In June 2019, the temperatures dropped to a record minus 136 degrees below zero. The location is used for weather operations and deep space telescopes.
The Vostok station, located nearby, is over 11,000 feet above sea level and has posted temperatures as low as 129 degrees. Its winter population is only 15 people and the mean temperature from April to September averages over 90 degrees below zero. In December, there is sunlight over 22 hours a day, but that drops close to zero in July. At the far end of the spectrum, it is 144 degrees in Dubai. The Earth just had the hottest two days on record.
According to the UCAR Center, temperatures on the Antarctic Peninsula have warmed almost 3°C (5.4°F) since 1950, more than anywhere else in the Southern Hemisphere. Overall, warmer temperatures along the peninsula are increasing ice melt and have caused several ice shelves to break apart.
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