A study published at the beginning of 2024 in the “Journal of Climate of the American Meteorological Society” showed surprising, and somewhat worrying, data. In March 2022 Antarctica was in fact hit by an extraordinary heat wave which saw temperatures rise up to 40°C above the seasonal average.
This particular event was classified as “the largest increase in average seasonal temperature ever recorded” and, while giving the impression of a simple anomaly, it is likely that it is instead a sign of what will happen to planet Earth.
The average annual temperature a Concord, the Italian-French permanent research base located on the Antarctic plateau (in the site called Dome C), is around -55°C with March which, being a transition month towards the Antarctic winter, has average daily temperatures which generally are around -50°C. On that “incriminate” day at the end of summer in March 2022, the remote station recorded a record temperature of -9.4°C, therefore approximately 40°C higher than the seasonal average.
The relatively mild heat also caused it melting of a significant amount of ice around Antarcticawith coastal areas witnessing widespread surface melting, which helped reduce record sea ice extent.
Experts think that it may also have been this chain of events that led, on March 15, 2022, to the final collapse of the Gonger Ice Shelfas large as the city of Rome (and which we told you about in an interesting in-depth study – ed).
According to researchers, this incredibly high temperature anomaly is certainly linked to broader changes affecting our planet’s climate. Although the March 2022 Antarctic heat wave could generally be classified as a “event that occurs every 100 years”scientists warn that climate change will lead to similar events with ever greater frequency.
The Ice and Climate team of the British Antarctic Survey, the British organization responsible for scientific research and dissemination on Antarctica, stated in a note: “Across the world, extreme temperatures and weather events are breaking records and this event demonstrates how Antarctica is not immune to this emerging trend“.
Dr Tom Bracegirdle, co-author of the study, added: “Extreme events are a key aspect of understanding how Earth systems and frozen places will respond to global warming and in what timeline. It is essential to improve our understanding how climate change will affect the severity and frequency of extreme events in Antarctica”.
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