Overview
- The Concordia research station logged −84.1°C twice overnight on July 18, according to raw data provided to LiveScience and reported by multiple outlets.
- That value is the lowest reported air temperature anywhere on Earth since readings near −84.2°C at Russia’s Vostok Station in 2012, while Concordia’s own coldest recorded reading remains −84.7°C from 2010.
- Concordia sits about 3,200 metres above sea level and roughly 600 miles from the coast, where dry, stable air and clear skies allow intense radiative cooling that drives very low surface air temperatures.
- Scientists and the station leader say this single extreme shows Antarctic weather variability and does not contradict long‑term global warming, noting Concordia also saw an unusually warm −9.4°C in March and that other Antarctic sites have logged record warmth.
- Researchers will compare the in situ record with satellite analyses that suggest even lower theoretical minima (about −98°C) and will keep monitoring to understand how rare cold episodes form and what they mean for Antarctic science and operations.