{"id":48715,"date":"2026-06-16T12:26:19","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T19:26:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=48715"},"modified":"2026-06-16T12:26:20","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T19:26:20","slug":"absolutely-crazy-acceleration-of-climate-collapse-feared-as-temps-in-antarctic-20c-higher-than-normal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2026\/06\/16\/absolutely-crazy-acceleration-of-climate-collapse-feared-as-temps-in-antarctic-20c-higher-than-normal\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Absolutely Crazy\u2019: Acceleration of Climate Collapse Feared as Temps in Antarctic 20\u00b0C Higher Than Normal"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"'Absolutely<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

An iceberg is seen near the coast of Spert Island in Antarctica, Dec. 16, 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0(Photo by Yang Shu\/Xinhua via Getty Images)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe temperatures here went very high so everything outside melted,\u201d said one scientist.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Brad Reed<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jun 15, 2026 (CommonDreams.org0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Climate scientists are sounding the alarm after an unprecedented heatwave hit Antarctica<\/a> this month and delivered temperatures 20\u00b0C higher than normal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to a Friday report<\/a> in The Guardian, temperatures at Antarctica\u2019s Trinity Peninsula this month hit peaks of over 15\u00b0C, even though it is the start of winter when ice typically expands on the continent. The prior record June temperature at the peninsula, 13.3\u00b0C, was set in 1998.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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After weeks of above-average temperatures, scientists noticed that an area of sea ice that typically forms in the region\u2014one roughly the size of France<\/a>\u2014was missing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s depressing,\u201d Will Hobbs, an Antarctic sea ice expert at the University of Tasmania, told The Guardian. \u201cIt is remarkable that we are in June and there is no sea ice there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hobbs also predicted that the loss of sea ice is likely permanent at this point given the trajectory of global temperature changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peter Fretwell, a scientist at the British Antarctic Survey, explained to the newspaper that the loss of sea ice poses a serious threat to penguin populations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSea ice is forming too late and breaking up too early,\u201d Fretwell explained. \u201cIt leads to reduced breeding success and longer trips to moulting grounds.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a separate interview<\/a> with The Guardian last week, Ra\u00fal Cordero, a climate professor at the University of Groningen, expressed astonishment at the record-breaking Antarctic heat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is absolutely crazy,\u201d Cordero said. \u201cThat is a huge anomaly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Luis Mu\u00f1oz, a Chilean glaciologist, told the newspaper he was shocked to step outside at King George\u2019s Island, located just north of Trinity Peninsula, and seeing the ground uncovered by snow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe temperatures here went very high so everything outside melted,\u201d Mu\u00f1oz explained. \u201cUsually there is 20 centimeters of snow and a lot of ice on the ground at this time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taking stock of the bigger picture, the newspaper reported that scientists are now fearful that some of the biggest glaciers in the region of the peninsula have now \u201cpast a tipping point\u201d that could \u201cpush up global sea levels by four meters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Such a rise in global sea levels would be unprecedented. Scientists\u00a0estimate<\/a>\u00a0that global sea levels have risen by between 21 and 24 centimeters since 1880.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brad Reed<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brad Reed is a staff writer for Common Dreams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Full Bio ><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An iceberg is seen near the coast of Spert Island in Antarctica, Dec. 16, 2025. \u00a0(Photo by Yang Shu\/Xinhua via Getty Images) \u201cThe temperatures here went very high so everything outside melted,\u201d said one scientist. Brad Reed Jun 15, 2026 (CommonDreams.org0 Climate scientists are sounding the alarm after an unprecedented… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2039],"tags":[16,284],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48715"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48715"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48715\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48716,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48715\/revisions\/48716"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48715"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48715"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48715"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}