Dr Marcelo Leppe, Director of the Instituto Antártico Chileno [Chilean Antarctic Institute]
Some weeks ago, a study from Ohio University mentioned that the temperature of the South Pole seems to be increasing three times more than expected, with an increase of 0.61 degrees Celsius per decade, between 1989 and 2018, according to the temperature recorded in the Amundsen-Scott Base.
In a recent study from Ohio University, Professor Ryan Fogt and his student Kyle Clem, mentioned that the temperature of the South Pole seems to be increasing three times more than expected, considering the worldwide average over the last 30 years.
So, great part of the Occidental Antarctic and the Antarctic Peninsula sustained warming and melting during the second half of the 20th Century, while the South Pole became colder until the 80s, at least, before the trend reverted, according to the study published in Nature Climate Change magazine.
With an increase of 0.61 degrees Celsius per decade, between 1989 and 2018, the temperature recorded in the Amundsen-Scott Base, in the geographical South Pole, increased three times quicker than the worldwide average, according to researchers. Therefore, melting of 300 thousand square kilometres occurred in the Amundsen Sea.
The study found that the strong warming in the interior of the Antarctic in the last 30 years was mainly due to the tropics, especially the warm temperatures of the oceans in the west Tropical Pacific Ocean, which changes the winds that blow in the South Atlantic, close to the Antarctic, which increases the warm air towards the South Pole.
The director of the Instituto Antártico Chileno (INACh), Marcelo Leppe, stated that, in spite of the agreements to stop the climate change, we are still close to the abyss. He said that there is a worldwide effort to regulate the planet’s temperature so that it does not increase more than 1.8 and 2 degrees Celsius. He added that if it is exceeded, we will be at a point of no return, so it is necessary to agree on what has to be done to avoid it. He concluded saying that our country is making all the necessary efforts and that the Magallanes Region could be an example to others. The director of INACh said that, in Chile, the government has been very clear and there has been mainstreaming in the last years regarding decarbonisation, but we are behind regarding the transformation of renewable energies. Now, Leppe has seen great news due to the generation of electricity through this type of energies, particularly in Magallanes. This gives sustainability to this process and, hopefully, it can be an example for the rest of the regions. He also hopes for the country to become a pioneer in this type of practices.