Concordia Station Hits -119.4°F Twice, Lowest Official Ground Temperature in 14 Years
Updated
Updated · geekspin · Aug 4
Concordia Station Hits -119.4°F Twice, Lowest Official Ground Temperature in 14 Years
3 articles · Updated · geekspin · Aug 4
Summary
-119.4°F was recorded twice at Antarctica’s Concordia station on July 18, at 6:25 a.m. and again nine minutes later, making it Earth’s coldest official ground reading since 2012.
Clear, cloudless skies over the high, dry East Antarctic plateau let heat escape continuously to space, pushing temperatures below the station leader’s notable threshold of -84°C.
Concordia sits 600 miles inland at 10,800 feet, with no winter flights and the nearest outpost more than 370 miles away—farther from help than astronauts on the ISS.
The reading still fell short of Concordia’s own -120.5°F mark in 2010 and Vostok’s Antarctic record of -128.6°F in 1983, while satellites suggest some ice-sheet hollows can drop near -144°F.
The deep freeze contrasts with Antarctica’s uneven climate signals: Argentina’s Esperanza base hit a record 59.7°F winter temperature last month, even as the interior plateau remains capable of historic lows.