On Thursday, Feb 6th, 2019, Esperanza, an Argentinian research station located on the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula reached temperatures of 18.2 degrees Celsius or 64.9 degrees Fahrenheit, setting a new record for the highest temperature in Antarctica. Before this, the highest recorded temperature reached in the Antarctic was 63.5 degrees Fahrenheit on March 24, 2015. The Antarctic Peninsula, is among the fastest-warming regions on the planet, with average temperatures currently ranging from minus ten degrees Celcius to minus 60 degrees Celsius at higher elevations. However, the average temperature in the region has increased by 3°C (5.4°F) over the past 50 years. This rising heat is causing detrimental effects on the Antarctic ice sheets which have seen the amount of sea ice lost between 1979 and 2019 increase by approximately six times each year. According to the National Science Foundation, these ice sheets account for 90 percent of all the world's ice and 70 percent of all the world's freshwater. Several estimates show that this ice could add upward of 16 inches of sea-level rise by the end of the century based on current rates. Scientists believe that if all the ice in Antarctica were to melt, it would raise global sea levels by 190 feet. Rising temperatures in the Antarctic are part of a global trend caused by carbon dioxide emissions and the release of heat trapping gasses from the burning of fossil fuels. Last year alone, global average surface temperatures were nearly 1 degree Celsius higher than the average from the middle of the last century. I chose this event because Climate Change is extremely pertinent to our lives especially in Whistler. Rising temperatures are going to have a large impact on our everyday lives and I think it is an important topic to be aware of.
References:
Irfan, U. (2020, February 7). Antarctica just set a record high temperature of 64.9 degrees. Retrieved from https://www.vox.com/2020/2/7/21128389/antarctica-record-heat- temperature-climate-change-glacier-ice-melt National Science Foundation - Where Discoveries Begin. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.nsf.gov/geo/opp/antarct/science/icesheet.jsp Taylor, D. B. (2020, February 8). Antarctica Sets Record High Temperature: 64.9 Degrees. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/08/climate/antarctica-record-temperature.html
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