Antarctica: one of the warmest region in the world

Antarctica has now become one of the warmest region in the world-- registering a rise of almost three degrees Celsius in the last 50 years. According to  the United Nations World Meteorological Organization (UN WMO), Antarctica logged temperatures up to 18.3 degrees Celsius (64.9 degrees Fahrenheit), a new maximum temperature record for the region, on February 6 earlier this year. The earlier record temperature for the Antarctic continent, according to the WMO, was 17.5 degrees Celsius (63.5 degrees Fahrenheit) -- recorded on March 24, 2015, at the Esperanza Research Station. 

WMO secretary-general Petteri Taalas said on Thursday that the high temperatures in Antarctica are a result of a large high-pressure system creating "fohn conditions", which are downslope winds creating significant surface warming. This, in turn, resulted in local warming both at the Esperanza station and at Seymour Island. Past scenarios such as this had also produced conditions conducive for similar record temperatures, an official release stated.  The new record of 18.3 degrees Celsius, established earlier this year, was also logged at the same station in Argentina, according to a press release issued by the UN agency.

"The Antarctic Peninsula is among the fastest-warming regions of the planet, almost 3°C over the last 50 years. This new temperature record is therefore consistent with the climate change we are observing. WMO is working in partnership with the Antarctic Treaty System to help conserve this pristine continent," said Professor Taalas.