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---
title: Climate Change: Antarctica Hits Record High Temperature
description: Antarctica&#x27;s record high temperature registered at 63.5° F (17.5° C) at the Esperanza research base on the Antarctic Peninsula
canonical: https://time.com/4687154/antarctica-temperature-climate-change/
author: Sarah Begley
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article:published_time: 2017-03-01T16:54:05.000Z
article:modified_time: 2023-12-13T11:20:50.000Z
article:section: Science
og:title: Antarctica Hit a Record High Temperature
og:description: The record was set last March
og:url: https://time.com/4687154/antarctica-temperature-climate-change/
og:site_name: TIME
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twitter:title: Antarctica Hit a Record High Temperature
twitter:description: The record was set last March
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![](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt28f42efc41e414e8/6988bc8da988ca17226bb312/esperanza.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9)


# Antarctica Hit a Record High Temperature

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## Video: It’s Hard to Describe Just How Badly the Arctic Is Doing

[Watch (HLS stream): It’s Hard to Describe Just How Badly the Arctic Is Doing](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/LBvCTmOy.m3u8) (0:53)

![It’s Hard to Describe Just How Badly the Arctic Is Doing](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/LBvCTmOy/poster.jpg?width=720)

_Published 2016-12-14. "This year we have really seen the deepening of the change signal in the Arctic"_


by 

[Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/)


## Sarah Begley


Updated: Dec 13, 2023 11:20 AM UTCPublished: Mar 1, 2017 4:54 PM UTC

![View of the Argentinian Esperanza military base from the Brazilian Navy's Oceanographic Ship Ary Rongel in Antarctica on March 5, 2014.](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt28f42efc41e414e8/6988bc8da988ca17226bb312/esperanza.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=3:2)

View of the Argentinian Esperanza military base from the Brazilian Navy's Oceanographic Ship Ary Rongel in Antarctica on March 5, 2014.

View of the Argentinian Esperanza military base from the Brazilian Navy's Oceanographic Ship Ary Rongel in Antarctica on March 5, 2014.Vanderlei Almeida—AFP/Getty Images

by 

[Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/)


## Sarah Begley


Updated: Dec 13, 2023 11:20 AM UTCPublished: Mar 1, 2017 4:54 PM UTC

Antarctica’s record high temperature registered at 63.5° F (17.5° C) at the [Esperanza research base](http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/esperanza-base) on the [Antarctic Peninsula](http://time.com/3762354/antarctica-temperature-high/), according to a data review released by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) on Wednesday.

The record was set at the Argentine research base on March 24, 2015, [Reuters](https://www.yahoo.com/news/antarctica-hits-record-high-temperature-balmy-17-5-133209804.html) reports. “Verification of maximum and minimum temperatures help us to build up a picture of the weather and climate in one of Earth’s final frontiers,” said an expert with the World Climate Research Programme, co-sponsored by the WMO.

The high for the broader Antarctic region registered at 67.6°F (19.8°C) in 1982, and the high specifically for the Antarctic plateau registered at just 19.4°F (-7.0°C) in 1980.

\[[_Reuters_](https://www.yahoo.com/news/antarctica-hits-record-high-temperature-balmy-17-5-133209804.html)\]

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