A new record temperature of 18.3 C (65 F) was recorded on the Antarctic Peninsula, breaking a previous record from 2015 of 17.5 C (63.5 F) at the same site, according to Argentina's national weather service.
The thermometer of the Argentine research base Esperanza, whose data goes back to 1961, read the historic temperature at midday on Thursday.
The reading was 0.8 degrees higher than the former record temperature at the site, but it was not the highest in the larger Antarctic region, including the continent, islands, and adjacent waters.
On Jan. 30, 1982, Britain's research station on Signy Island recorded a temperature of 19.8 C (67.6 F).
A committee of World Meteorological Organization (WMO) will now check that if this is indeed a new record for the Antarctica, which is known as the largest continental landmass.
According to Randall Cerveny, the WMO's Weather and Climate Extremes rapporteur, the Esperanza's thermometer reading indicates a likely legitimate record, but a formal evaluation of the record as well as the meteorological conditions surrounding the event are needed.
"The record appears to be likely associated (in the short term) with what we call a regional 'foehn' event over the area: a rapid warming of air coming down a slope/mountain," said Cerveny.
