When talking about Antarctica's climate, the word "extreme" could not be left out.|
All the factors that make up the weather- temperature, wind, precipitaion- are extreme compared to any part of the world.
But if you look closer, the climate is varied within Antarctica, too-- inland plateau with the extremely cold, dry conditions, to milder, moister conditions along the coasts. Let's take a look at the features of Antarctica's climate.
Since Antarctica is in the Southern Hemisphere, the seasons are opposite with the Northern Hemisphere.
The Antarctic winter lasts from May until August and the summer lasts from December until February.
The temperatures vary in places in Antarctica.
The inland temperatures hardly get over the freezing point of 0 degrees celsius, and in the winter, days below -55 degrees celsius continue throughout the season.
The lowest temperature ever was recorded here on July 21, 1983 near Russia's Vostok Station.
At the Amundsen Scott Station of the US in the South Pole, the average temperature for the four seasons are -59 degrees celsius in winter, -49 degrees celsius in spring, -32 degrees celsius in summer, and -57 degrees celsius in autumn.
The coastal areas and the Peninsula enjoy a much milder temperature because of its distance with the water.
The average temperatures for the coastal areas are -8 to -20 degrees celsius in winter, -3 to -11 degrees celsius in spring, 1 to -2 degrees celsius in summer, and -2 to -14 degrees celsius in winter.
Temperature is directly effected by the amount of sunlight in Antarctica.
Since Antarctica can not store heat, when the sun is high it gets warm quickly, and when the sun is low it cools down fast.
In the South Pole and near the Vostok Station, the hottest month of the year is December when the sunlight is at its biggest.
Near the waters the warmest month is January.