- Storm Helene kills 44, threatens more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Boeing strike grinds on as latest talks fail to reach agreement
- Iran 'news' sites, hackers target Trump ahead of US election
- US ports brace for potential dockworkers strike
- Japan's speedy, spotless Shinkansen bullet trains turn 60
- US hurricane deaths rise to 44, fears of more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Global stocks mostly rise, cheering Beijing stimulus
- Europe en route for Moon with new simulator, says astronaut Pesquet
- Fireworks forecast if comet survives risky Sun flypast
- Argentina judge orders dictionary to delete pejorative definition of 'Jewish'
- Global stocks rise on rate hopes, Beijing stimulus
- S.African woman turns 118, among the oldest in the world
- UK clears $4 bn AI partnership between Amazon, Anthropic
- Barca fans barred from Champions League away game over racist banner
- Chinese stocks extend surge, Europe higher on Beijing stimulus
- Pope says Church must 'seek forgiveness' for child sexual abuse
- China caps week of 'bazooka' stimulus for ailing economy with rate cut
- Cuts, cash, credit: China bids to jumpstart flagging economy
- France's debt weighs heavier ahead of budget debate
- Iran treads carefully, backing Hezbollah while avoiding war
- Return to sender: waste stranded at sea stirs toxic dispute
- 'Broken' news industry faces uncertain future
- On remote Greek island, migratory birds offer climate clues
- Taken from mother by nuns, victim seeks answers as pope visits Belgium
- China cuts amount banks hold in reserve to boost lending
- Hong Kong, Shanghai extend surge as China optimism boosts markets
- Vietnam president reiterates support for Cuba during official visit
- Drought reduces Amazon River in Colombia by as much as 90%: report
- Stay or go? Pacific Islanders face climate's grim choice
- Florida bracing for 'unsurvivable' Hurricane Helene
- Poverty rises to over 52 percent in Milei's Argentina
- Chloe's see-through look may not be for Kamala Harris
- Champagne houses abuzz over English sparkling wine
- Macron, Trudeau pledge to work for 'decarbonized' economies
- Hurricanes, storms, typhoons... Is September wetter than usual?
- China stimulus, tech optimism boost stock markets
- 'Unsurvivable' Hurricane Helene races towards Florida
- Macron meets Trudeau in Canada as both face political setbacks
- South Korea surges in UN innovation index
- Chloe's see-through look may not be for Kamala
- Floods threaten Niger's historic 'gateway to the desert'
- China economy hopes boost global equities
- Ubisoft shares sink after 'Assassin's Creed' delay
- German economy to shrink again in 2024: think tanks
- Hong Kong's New World Development replaces CEO Adrian Cheng
- Swiss central bank cuts rate again amid strong franc worries
- Germany's BASF to focus on 'core units' in major overhaul
- China admits economy facing new 'problems', vows to fix property sector
- Stock markets boosted by China hopes, tech rally
- Bangladesh revolution sparks new hopes among Rohingya
Antarctica winter experiences prolonged heatwave
Antarctica, the world's coldest continent, is experiencing an exceptionally long heatwave during its winter, according to Britain's national polar research institute.
Temperature anomalies are not unusual on the continent known as "The Ice" but "the longevity of the warm period is unusual", Thomas Caton Harrison, Polar Climate Scientist at British Antarctic Survey, said to AFP this week.
Provisional figures indicate the Antarctic-wide July 2024 average near-surface temperature was 3.1 degrees Celsius above normal for the month.
Calculated over land and land ice, this makes it the second warmest July in Antarctica since records began in 1979 -- the warmest was in July 1981.
Average daily temperatures ranged from -34.68C on July 15 to -28.12C on July 31, according to data posted online by the University of Maine.
It was -26.6C on average on the continent on August 7, the latest date available.
The July average temperature anomaly even reached 9-10C over limited parts of Dronning Maud Land and part of the eastern Weddell Sea offshore.
Daily temperature anomalies often occur during the Antarctica's winter, but "what is remarkable is prolonged high temperatures", said Caton Harrison.
"Very early figures suggest it could be on track to be an exceptionally warm Antarctic winter," he added.
"The Ice" is the coldest, windiest, and least populated continent on the planet, but it too is impacted by global warming.
Extreme heat on the continent has high stakes, notably as a trigger for greater ice loss.
According to a study published in June in the journal Nature Geoscience, scientists have discovered a new tipping point toward "runaway melting" of Antarctic ice sheets, caused by warm ocean water intruding between the ice and the land it sits on.
With the rise of ocean temperatures due to human-caused global warming, Antarctic ice sheets are melting, threatening a rise in global sea levels and putting coastal communities at risk.
D.Avraham--CPN