East Antarctica winter heatwave hit 28°C above normal, scientists say
East Antarctica saw a seriously unusual winter heatwave, with temperatures shooting up to 28 degrees Celsius above normal for more than two weeks straight.
Scientists say this rare spike was driven by a weird atmospheric shift made worse by climate change, kind of like what happened back in March 2022.
The fact that even Antarctica is seeing these extremes is a big sign our climate is changing fast.
Weakened polar vortex allowed atmospheric river
The main culprit? A weakened polar vortex let in an "atmospheric river" of warm, moist air, leaving Antarctic sea ice near record lows and the surrounding Southern Ocean unusually warm.
Experts warn these freak weather events could become up to 20 times more common this century if climate change keeps ramping up.
That's bad news for ice shelves and could speed up sea level rise worldwide, affecting people everywhere, not just penguins.