this post was submitted on 06 Oct 2023
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I wanted to learn more so i went looking for an article. Heres a pretty good write up. https://www.sciencealert.com/flowers-are-spreading-in-antarctica-as-summer-temperatures-soar
TLDR: Lots of flowering plants, moss and algae spreading. In March, temperatures near the south pole reached 39 °C above normal for three days in a row, hitting a peak of -10 °C (14 °F). Warm enough for researchers to walk around in shorts and shirtless....In Antarctica. Yeah were fucked.
I find it hilarious that they're like "It's 14F! Break out the shorts and T-shirts!" Meanwhile anyone anywhere else (except the Arctic regions) is like "This is pretty fucking cold".
It likely feels warmer. Antarctica is almost entirely desert. The "dry heat" argument works for cold, too.
I've been outside in a t-shirt and jeans in northern Greenland (also polar desert) when it was below freezing and was completely comfortable. I could have hung around out there all day if the day wasn't four months long. I like the cold and I've got extra mass to keep me warm, though.
Thule?
Yep.
I left not too long ago, it's gotten significantly warmer. Rained every week of summer. I think it hit 60 one day. The tow is closed because the permafrost underneath shifted and the building is cracking in half.
Oh, holy shit. They normally leave the foundation vents open on the buildings in the winter and close them in the spring to make sure the permafrost stays frozen.
One of my coworkers (who loves going to Thule) is a major climate change denier. Wonder how he'll spin that when we go back in a couple years.
"The tow" isn't ringing bells - what's that again?
The tow was (rip) the bar. That's wild, you can literally see the change happening in real time. If you guys do work on the radar regularly we've probably met haha, small world.
Ah, that's right. Damn, that's half the social scene there.
We work on the fuel farm. It's up for a major overhaul in a couple years.