Antarctic Peninsula records record high temperatures in June

(Patria) - Temperatures on the Antarctic Peninsula reached a record 15.4°C for June, with ice melting at an abnormal rate during the current winter, climatologists told AFP.

Esperanza Base, an Argentine research station located in the north of the peninsula, recorded an unprecedented figure on June 6. The previous highest temperature recorded for that month - 13.3°C - dates back to 1998. The current heat also significantly exceeds Esperanza's June average of -6.2°C.

Such a figure is "very unusual for this time of year," Jose Luis Stella, a climatologist at the Argentine National Meteorological Service, told AFP.

The Argentine bases Marambio and San Martin also measured record figures between June 5 and 6.

Marambio recorded 11.8°C, surpassing the previous maximum of 9.2°C and the June average of 10.7°C.

San Martin recorded 9.4°C compared to the previous record of 7.8°C and a June average of -5.6°C.

"Confirms the trend"

The heatwave in the northern Antarctic is not an isolated event, said Professor Raul Cordero of the University of Groningen to AFP.

"It confirms the trend," he said, warning that "such events will continue to occur more frequently" if global warming is not stopped.

Thomas Caton Harrison, a polar climatologist at the British Antarctic Survey, believes a combination of factors, including climate change, has resulted in the current heat.

"There is credible evidence that climate change plays a role, but the effect is complex in this region," he said.

"Since the Antarctic records such large temperature fluctuations, we need to collect a lot of data over many years to create a picture of the baseline climate."

Both experts agree that temperatures in the region have been rising for years and are already showing visible effects.

"A surprising amount of precipitation is falling as rain rather than snow," said Caton Harrison.

"This has implications for polar ecosystems such as penguin colonies," he said.

"It poses a challenge for my colleagues working at Antarctic bases because a lot of liquid rain falls, creating runoff and ice."

Esperanza Base has recorded above-zero temperatures daily for three consecutive weeks.

This trend has caused "large areas in the far north of the white continent to remain without snow," says Cordero, calling it "an unusual sight in the Antarctic landscape during winter."