‘Surprising’ warmth above Antarctica is earliest observed on record

Temperature spikes above Antarctica in July represent the earliest warming of the stratosphere ever recorded, NASA observations show.

Atmospheric scientists have been closely monitoring this region of Earth's atmosphere, which extends from about 4 to 31 miles (6 to 50 kilometers) above Earth's surface, during the Southern Hemisphere's winter. Lawrence Coy and Paul Newman, both atmospheric scientists at NASA's Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO), create elaborate data assimilation and reanalysis models of the global atmosphere and have paid close attention to unusual and "surprising" warming events.

Usually, the temperature in the middle stratosphere, roughly 19 miles (30 km) above Earth's surface, is around minus 112 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 80 degrees Celsius), but on July 7, there was a leap of 27 F (-3 degrees C) to -85 F (-65 degrees C). This spike set a new record for the warmest July temperature detected in the stratosphere above Antarctica.