Antarctica Sees Unprecedented Heatwave, Foreshadowing Ice Vulnerability

A June heatwave across parts of Antarctica pushed temperatures about 20C above normal, with Trinity Peninsula recording 15.4C (59.7F) and surface melting observed on glaciers like Collins. While a single extreme event won’t melt Antarctica, it underscores how warming—driven by stronger westerlies—could accelerate ice loss. Long-term monitoring of the Thwaites glacier remains incomplete, but new measurements hint at warmer waters beneath and rising melt. A study from Victoria University of Wellington projects melt could rise up to tenfold by 2100 under 3.5–4C warming, strengthening calls for aggressive carbon-emission cuts to curb sea-level rise risk.