In Antarctica, Ukrainian polar explorers recorded a record-breaking and alarming warming trend for October

Near the Antarctic research station “Akademik Vernadsky,” the air temperature rose to +11.1°C. This is the highest October reading on record. The previous record was +7.9°C and was recorded in 1968.

“This is an alarming trend,” said Denis Pishnyak, head of the Department of Atmospheric and Geospace Physics at the National Antarctic Scientific Center. According to him, the October high is only 1.6°C lower than the station’s all-time temperature record of +12.7°C, recorded in February 2022. At the same time, February is the height of the Antarctic summer, while October is only the beginning of spring.

 This time, the temperature rose from +1.2°C to +11.1°C in just two and a half hours. Meanwhile, humidity dropped from 90% to 54%, and wind speed increased from 1.5 to 13.1 m/s.

Scientists attribute the sudden warming to the “mountain foehn” phenomenon—a dry, warm wind that occurs when air currents cross a mountain range and heat up as they descend. This time, the phenomenon may have been intensified by a so-called “atmospheric river,” which carries large volumes of warm, moist air into polar regions.

According to polar researchers, such atmospheric processes have been increasingly penetrating from the tropics into polar regions in recent years. They are linked to the effects of climate change.

Source: National Antarctic Scientific Center

As a reminder, a protected area has been established in Antarctica near the Akademik Vernadsky Station.

Recruitment has begun in Ukraine for a new Antarctic expedition to the Akademik Vernadsky Station.

Ukrainian scientists at the “Academician Vernadsky” Antarctic station observed a rare red aurora alongside two neighboring galaxies—the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds. The photos were taken by polar explorer Serhiy Yakushchenko on Galindez Island in West Antarctica.