[The Guardian] Antarctica: what it means when the coldest place on Earth records an unprecedented heatwave

Antarctica: what it means when the coldest place on Earth records an unprecedented heatwave

Antarctica’s weather has worldwide impacts and can be a ‘canary in the mine’ for patterns of change elsewhere

While the world rightfully focuses on the Covid-19 pandemic, the planet is still warming. This summer’s Antarctic weather, as elsewhere in the world, was unprecedented in the observed record.

Our research, published today in Global Change Biology, describes the recent heatwave in Antarctica. Beginning in late spring east of the Antarctic Peninsula, it circumnavigated the continent over the next four months. Some of our team spent the summer in Antarctica observing these temperatures and the effect on natural systems, witnessing the heatwave first hand.

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