Key points
- -84.1 degrees is the lowest temperature on Earth since 2012, recorded at the Concordia station in Antarctica on July 18.
- The reading is only 0.6 degrees higher than the station’s minimum – minus 84.7 degrees in August 2010.
- The value is close to the absolute record of the planet – minus 89.2 degrees at the Vostok station in 1983.
- The cause of the extreme cold is months of continuous darkness, high altitude, dry and windless weather.
At the Antarctic research station Concordia, on July 18, a temperature of minus 84.1 degrees was recorded – this is the lowest reading measured anywhere on Earth since 2012, reports Orbital Insights.
The value is only 0.6 degrees higher than the station’s minimum: in August 2010, a reading of minus 84.7 degrees was recorded there.
The temperature was also close to the absolute record of the planet – minus 89.2 degrees, recorded at the Vostok station in July 1983.
Such extreme cold in winter in Antarctica is associated with months of continuous darkness. The surface quickly loses heat, and the high altitude, dry air, and windless weather further enhance the cooling.
The French-Italian station Concordia is located on the Antarctic Plateau at an altitude of 3,233 meters above sea level and is considered one of the coldest permanently inhabited places on the planet.
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