Question: Has the weather ever been warm in antartica

Octavia Brayley answered on 8 Nov 2023: last edited 8 Nov 2023 3:52 pm

Yes, it has! In fact, Antarctica used to be pretty warm and ice-free. The average summer temperatures during the Cretaceous period (145.5 million years ago – 66 million years ago) were around 19ºC; water temperatures in the rivers and swamps reached up to 20ºC; and the amount and intensity of rainfall in West Antarctica were similar to those in today’s Wales. The average temperature in Antarctica nowadays ranges from -10ºC to a very chilly -80ºC! The coldest-ever temperature was recorded in Antarctica and was -89.2ºC. There were even dinosaurs roaming around Antarctica during the Cretaceous period! The reason why we’re worried about climate change is that even though the Earth’s temperature has fluctuated throughout history, it’s happening at a higher rate now than it ever has before. So, we don’t know what the effects might be, and of course, we now have billions of humans on Earth who will be affected. And we have a responsibility to protect the planet from global warming which has been caused by humans, rather than previous periods of warming which were natural. There’s loads more information on Antarctica’s history on the internet- have a search! Thanks for the great question 🙂