Is Antarctica Boiling Over With Heatwaves?
I check recent claims of temperatures 39°C above normal
Source: Sky News, Monday 25 September 2023.
Now and then a headline comes along that smells so darn fishy as to warrant fainting, followed by smelling salts. Sky News are the providers of such a headline this week, and I felt it my solemn duty to don my apron and grab my filleting knife.
Now, a 39°C hike is extraordinary - not just quite extraordinary or even molto extraordinary, but what-the-fudge-is-going-on extraordinary. This is extraordinary layered with marzipan, frosted icing, sprinkles and dark chocolate shavings.
We are told this singular event took place on 18 March 2022 at a place called Dome C. Note use of the word singular – we’re talking one location for just one day – whereas the misleading headline implies a continental meltdown. I hope readers are snarling!
As it so happens, Dome C is a big icy bump deep inland, being a hot favourite place for cold ice core samples. There isn't a WMO/GHCNd weather observatory there so we don't have a historic record of official maxima, w…
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