Montreal Is Colder Than McMurdo Station In Antarctica Today
- Antarctica has nothing on Montreal temperatures, which have reached -18 C today, according to Environment Canada.
- In fact, scientists this week recorded a record-breaking temperature of over 20 C on the southernmost continent.
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Despite sunny skies, Montreal temperatures have plummeted to a frigid -18 C today with a morning windchill of -30, reminding us all that winter hasn't given up yet. Meanwhile, in Antarctica, a land covered almost entirely by ice and snow, penguins are in a panic as summer temperatures this week have skyrocketed to over 20 C for the first time in recorded history. At bases across the continent, temperatures are currently between a balmy 6 C and -9 C, according to TimeandDate.com.
Right now, the temperature at Antarctica's McMurdo Station is -7 C, according to the United States Arctic Program website.
Scientists detected the record-breaking temperature of 20.75 C on Saturday, possibly shattering the previous record that stood since 1982, a measurement that needs to be confirmed by the World Meteorological Organization before we can actually call it a new record.
The news of Antarctica's record-breaking temperature created a stir with climate activists after the report was shared on Greta Thunberg's Twitter page. To make matters worse, CNN reported that a chunk of ice the size of Atlanta broke off the edge of a glacier.
In Montreal, an unusually mild winter has also caused some alarm amongst the locals. Today, however, winter proved that it's here to stay, at least for a little while. After this weekend (when we expect temperatures to feel like -25 with windchill), Environment Canada forecasts two periods of snow and only two days when the temperature hit -10 C.
The cruel weather god has certainly concocted a devious scheme, haven't they?
While -25 in Montreal isn't that surprising to anyone, 20 C in Antarctica is cause for alarm on many levels.
According to the UN's World Meteorological Organization, the Antarctic has some of the "fastest warming regions of the planet." Reports indicate that the Antarctic Peninsula has warmed by almost 3 C in only 50 years.
#ANTÁRTIDA El domingo 9 de febrero de 2020, nuestra estación en Marambio, registró 15,5°C de temperatura, y se cons… https://t.co/UO6iKcbb27— SMN Argentina (@SMN Argentina) 1581686223.0
Translation: On Sunday, February 9, 2020, our station in Marambio, recorded a temperature of 15.5 C, and became the 2nd highest value for a February, after the 15.8 C recorded on Thursday, February 6.
"The amount of ice lost annually from the Antarctic ice sheet increased at least six-fold between 1979 and 2017," also reports the WMO.
It's not only the ice loss that's alarming scientists. Reuters reports that the population of chinstrap penguins in some colonies has dropped by as much as 77% in only a few decades.
@sentinel_hub @ESA_EO @Pierre_Markuse @BBCAmos @AntarcticPIG @AntarcticReport @helenafricker @BAS_News @EU_ENV… https://t.co/wbjXVmsBZj— Copernicus EU (@Copernicus EU) 1581507930.0
And these sky-high temperatures in frigid regions aren't unique to Antarctica, either. Last year, the Arctic region around the North Pole shattered records with a summer temperature of 21 C.
In 141 years of climate records, there has never been a warmer January than last month, per @NOAA #StateOfClimate.… https://t.co/eNS1zCUbW0— World Meteorological Organization (@World Meteorological Organization) 1581680078.0
The cold in Montreal gives us all something to complain about, to be sure, but if penguins could talk... well, you can only imagine what they'd tell us (starts with the same letter as fish).
[rebelmouse-image 26886823 photo_credit="Environment Canada" expand=1 original_size="1132x348"] Environment Canada
It's not all that bad, though. Pretty soon, we'll be complaining about how hot it is.
I just hope you feel a little bad for the penguins, though!