Earth poles see 'unprecedented' heatwaves; Antarctica's temperature rises to 40 degrees

Startling heatwaves at both the Earth's poles are alarming climate experts. They believe that such “unprecedented” phenomena could trigger faster and more abrupt climate breakdown than previously thought. Temperatures in sections of Antarctica have recorded 40C above normal, while the north pole’s temperature stood at 30C higher than normal, reaching levels normally registered later in the year, The Guardian reported. The warnings have been issued after recording temperatures in sections of Antarctica.

Meanwhile, scientists believe that this rapid rise in temperatures at the poles is an indication that the Earth’s climate systems have been disrupted due to human lifestyles, as per the report. The scientists have labelled the developments as “historic” and “dramatic''. Michael Mann, director of the Earth System Science Centre at Pennsylvania State University said, as per The Guardian, “The models have done a good job projecting the overall warming, but we’ve argued that extreme events are exceeding model projections. These events drive home the urgency of action.” 

What are unprecedented climate changes?

Mark Maslin, professor at Earth System Science at University College London, stated that he and his colleagues were already shocked by the amount and the level of severity of extreme weather events last year. “Now we have record temperatures in the Arctic which, for me, show we have entered a new extreme phase of climate change much earlier than we had expected,” Maslin said. Last year, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned of unprecedented warming signals, resulting in some changes such as polar melt that could rapidly become irreversible. The latest abnormal patterns have emerged followed by a series of alarming heatwaves in 2021, most probably in the US Pacific north-west, where previous records were shattered by several degrees as temperatures climbed close to 50C. Climate change has prompted the release of warnings for climate calamity. 

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