Scientists have long warned that with the climate continuing to change we can expect extreme weather events to increase in frequency, and freak heatwaves hitting either end of the planet this week serve as a pertinent example. Temperatures have been recorded in both the Antarctic and Arctic that are so far beyond the norm, that one expert says they would have previously been thought impossible.
In January of 2020, scientists at the Casey Research Station in East Antarctica recorded the continent's first heatwave, logging temperatures of 9.2 °C (48.6 °F). In a new record for the month of March as the continent heads into winter, air temperatures last week hit a maximum of 5.6 °C (42 °F). The Italian-French Concordia research station on the Antarctic Plateau recorded temperatures of -12.2 °C (10 °F), the highest ever not just for March but any month of the year, as noted by Antarctica climatology researcher and journalist Stefano Di Battista on Twitter.
