Antarctic temperatures have become another sign of global warming.
Despite the fact that Antarctic is going through winter, a significant increase in temperature was recorded at the Ukrainian Polar Station "Academician Vernadsky" on July 16. The maximum daily temperature rose from –4.2 ° C to +4.5 ° C. Such sharp warming lasted almost two days, accompanied by rain and sleet. Similar temperatures were also recorded at the British Roser Station, which is even closer to the South Pole.
Scientists explain these anomalies with a phenomenon known as an "atmospheric river" - a narrow strip with a high concentration of atmospheric moisture, which quickly tolerates warm masses of air from the tropics into the polar regions. According to the National Antarctic Center, such changes can have serious consequences: increased glaciers' melting processes, coastal waters and the destruction of ecosystems on both the white continent and the surrounding ocean.
Scientists emphasize that in the last five years, the temperature at the Academic Vernadsky station rarely dropped below -10 ° C, while in the previous five years such temperatures were rare, but still reached -15 ° C. By the 1980s, winter temperatures in the Antarctic were dropped to -30 ° C. These changes indicate clear warming in Antarctica and reflect the general trend of global warming.
The climatic crisis and its global consequences
The climatic crisis not only changes temperature in the polar regions, but also has an effect on the duration of the day on Earth. The mass melting of polar ice leads to redistribution of water from high latitudes into the world oceans. This makes the earth more flattened or thick, which slows the rotation of the planet and extends the day. Changes in the duration of the day, although measured by milliseconds, can have serious consequences for Internet traffic, financial transactions and GPS navigation, which depend on accurate timing.
The study of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States emphasizes that these changes are the result of human activity that transforms the land and competes with natural processes that have existed for billions of years. The melting of Greenland and Antarctic glacial shields through global warming demonstrates how human activity can affect planetary processes and deepen global environmental problems.
