Concordia Sets Back-To-Back Monthly Cold Records; Cold Returns To Northern And Western Europe; Belgium Halts Nuclear Dismantling; + CO2 Study Finds No Clear Human Fingerprint

The isotope record is one line of evidence. The temperature record is another. Both point to a climate system that was moving hard long before modern emissions.

Concordia Threatens Monthly Cold Records

Antarctica has entered winter hard this year.

At Concordia Station, on the East Antarctic Plateau, temperatures plunged to -75.2C (-103.4F) on April 30, then fell again to a provisional -75.9C (-104.6F) on May 1.

ClimAntarctide data indicate both readings threaten monthly records for Concordia: one for April, followed immediately by one for May. The May 1 value remains provisional, so the final figure may still be adjusted.

Concordia sits at Dome C, around 3,233 m (10,607 ft) above sea level, one of the coldest permanently staffed research stations on Earth. The public ClimAntartide archive identifies Concordia as a PNRA/IPEV station, with automatic weather observations running from 2005 onward.

Roughly 1,000 miles farther south, at the South Pole, winter darkness is more advanced. The South Pole Telescope recently noted that, nearly a month after sunset, only a faint twilight still clings to the horizon:

Antarctica is collapsing into extreme cold as the sun disappears and the plateau radiates heat into space. It’s only down from here.

Cold Returns To Northern And Western Europe

Spring warmth is being cut short. Forecasts show colder air dropping back into northern and western Europe next week, bringing below-average temperatures, snow, and the risk of widespread frosts.