26 January 2009 | Luca Del Buono

 

Scientists thought the Antarctica at the bottom of the world was experiencing stable temperatures or was even cooling slightly.

This was considered an unalloyed good thing since it meant Antarctica's massive ice sheets weren't in danger of melting, unlike the rapidly disappearing sea ice around the Arctic.

But now it turns out that the view on the stability of Antarctica's climate may have been wrong.

Using the most sophisticated analysis of satellite and weather station temperatures to date, a new study concludes that Antarctica has actually grown warmer over the past half century at a pace similar to the rest of the Southern Hemisphere, or about 0.5 degrees Celsius.

Although the research doesn't blame global warming, it says the trend "is hard to explain" without noting the rising concentrations of greenhouse gas in the atmosphere due to human activity.

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Source: The Globe and Mail

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