In February 2020， climate experts stationed at an Argentine research base in a northern part of Antarctica have just logged the highest temperature on record for the usually frozen continent.

According to preliminary data from the UNs World Meteorological Organization， temperatures on the Antarctic Peninsula just hit 64.9 degrees Fahrenheit， that is 18.3 degrees Celsius. That figure tops the previous record of 17.5 degrees Celsius set in March 2015.

While such temperatures might be considered pleasant under different circumstances—such as a picnic or hiking trip—but this is Antarctica were talking about， home to the most inhospitable environments on the planet.

Rising temperatures are alarming there because Antarctica， for one thing， contains the vast majority of Earths freshwater ice， along with Greenland. Moreover， according to the WMO， temperatures in this particular area have warmed 3 degrees Celsius over the last 50 years， and 87% of the glaciers nearby have retreated during that period.

Whats worse is， the retreat is accelerating. And when glaciers melt， bad things happen： Ice flowing from Antarcticas Thwaites Glacier， for example， is thought to be a major contributor to sea-level rise.

南極洲北部阿根廷研究基地駐扎的氣候?qū)＜以?020年2月記錄了這個(gè)經(jīng)常冰封的大陸有記錄以來的最高溫度。

聯(lián)合國(guó)世界氣象組織的初步數(shù)據(jù)顯示，南極半島的溫度達(dá)到了64.9華氏度，也就是18.3攝氏度。這一數(shù)據(jù)超過了2015年3月份17.5攝氏度的高溫紀(jì)錄。

雖然在其他情況下這個(gè)溫度還是很舒適的，比如野餐或徒步，但我們說的是南極呀，那里的環(huán)境是地球上最不適宜居住的。

那里不斷上升的氣溫令人擔(dān)憂。首先，因?yàn)槟蠘O和格陵蘭有著地球上絕大多數(shù)的淡水冰。而且世界氣象組織稱，這個(gè)特定區(qū)域的氣溫在過去50年里上升了3攝氏度，附近87%的冰川都縮小了。

更糟糕的是，冰川還在繼續(xù)縮小。冰川融化的后果很嚴(yán)重，比如大家都認(rèn)為從南極思韋茨冰川流出的冰是海平面上升的主要原因。

Word Study

circumstance /'s??rk?mst?ns/ n. 條件;環(huán)境;境況

inhospitable /'?nhɑ?'sp?t?bl/ adj. 不適于居住的;荒涼的

retreat /r?'tri?t/ v. 退卻;撤退;離開

accelerate /?k'sel?re?t/ v. 加速;加快

Exposure to the sun accelerates the ageing process.