On March 10, Antarctica logged another seasonal low.

An anomalous -67.2C (-89.0F) was recorded at Dome Fuji AWS at 22:11 UTC. This marks one of the lowest temperatures for the time of year ever recorded on the continent.
https://electroverse.substack.com/p/dome-fuji-to-672c-89f-march-blizzards

Antarctica has seen fierce lows of late, with Concordia posting four sub -70C days in a row.

Vostok has joined in too, with an anomalous low of -73C (-99.4F) registered on April 1.

Winter has commenced early at the bottom of the world.
https://electroverse.substack.com/p/vostok-at-73c-heavy-snow-pounds-hits
https://electroverse.substack.com/p/vostok-at-73c-heavy-snow-pounds-hits

On May 14, Concordia Station posted an extreme -79.1C (-110.4F) — a figure far below the average for the time of year. Temperatures below -75C (-103F) are typically reserved for the deep Antarctic winter months of June and July.
https://electroverse.substack.com/p/fearco-concordia-continues-to-cool

On July 7, Antarctica’s Vostok Station logged -78.9C (-110F) — well-below the typical July mins of around -70C (-94F).
For decades now, Antarctica —particularly the vast East Antarctic interior— has been cooling, not warming.

Satellite data (such as the UAH) shows no significant warming trend over the South Pole since records began in 1979, with many regions actually trending colder.

A 2021 study in Geophysical Research Letters confirmed that East Antarctica has cooled over recent decades. Another paper, published in Nature Climate Change, revealed the South Pole had cooled 0.1C per decade from 1979 to 2018.
https://electroverse.substack.com/p/vostok-to-110f-new-study-svalbard

The media is back hyping Antarctica’s Thwaites Glacier, calling it the "most important" glacier in the world, the "riskiest" glacier, the “Doomsday Glacier,” claiming it could flood cities if it collapses. But the numbers don’t back the hysteria.

Thwaites is contributing just 0.18 mm per year to sea level rise, according to the data. At that rate, it would take over 3,000 years to hit the worst-case 65 cm (25 inch) rise. Even the most absurdly aggressive models don’t predict collapse this century.




Ice shelves crack and calve all the time. That’s normal. The subglacial terrain beneath Thwaites is rugged, with ridges that slow retreat. Its collapse isn’t inevitable, and even if the front breaks up, that doesn’t mean runaway disintegration.

The “Doomsday” label isn’t scientific—it’s clickbait.

https://electroverse.substack.com/p/united-states-36f-below-average-thwaites

[news.com.au]

What is the polar vortex?

The term polar vortex refers to a large rotating column of cold air surrounded by powerful winds, which develops above Earth’s polar regions during the cooler months of the year. In the southern hemisphere, the polar vortex usually forms in autumn, reaches a peak strength in winter and breaks down during spring.





Image: A top-down view of the polar vortex based on long-term average shape and size in early August, using data from 1991 to 2020. This image shows the average wind speed at the 10hPa level of the atmosphere, which is about 30km above the surface.


The polar vortex extends from the surface up to the stratosphere, although meteorologists typically refer to it in two distinct sections:


The stratospheric polar vortex sits about 10 to 50 km above Earth’s surface. This section of the polar vortex is strong and typically shaped like a circle or oval. The stratospheric polar vortex does not directly affect weather near Earth’s surface.


The tropospheric polar vortex extends from the surface up to the bottom of the stratosphere, spanning the lowest 8 to 12 km of the atmosphere. The tropospheric polar vortex can directly influence weather patterns across the southern and northern hemispheres by changing the shape and behaviour of the polar jet stream.


Sudden stratospheric warming

The stratospheric polar vortex can become weakened and displaced by a phenomenon called Sudden Stratospheric Warming (SSW), which refers to a rapid increase in temperature in the polar stratosphere. These stratospheric warming episodes sometimes filter downwards through the atmosphere and can also disrupt the tropospheric polar vortex, causing it to weaken and change shape.


When stratospheric warming causes the tropospheric polar vortex to weaken, we usually see the polar jet stream become wavier and expand towards the equator, which allows nodes of cold air to spread away from the polar region
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/stratospheric-warming-is-weakening-the-southern-hemispheres-polar-vortex/1890898

Antarctica is slipping into winter faster than usual.

On Feb 10, Vostok recorded -53.5C (-64.3F). The following day, Concordia fell to -53.4C (-64.1F). These are extreme values for early February, at the tail end of the Antarctic summer. While in the South Shetland Islands (located at 62S, so well north of the mainland), temperatures have been dipping below -5C (23F) — again, rare so early.

At the South Pole Station, winds have been blowing persistently from the southeast. That is not the usual February pattern. At this time of year, winds at the Pole are normally split more evenly between northeast and east.

A sustained southeast wind means air is being pulled directly from the high East Antarctic Plateau, the coldest part of the continent. That airflow acts like opening a freezer door, allowing deeply frozen interior air to spill across the rest of the continent.

Antarctica is not just cooling because the sun is dropping lower.

The wind pattern has shifted.

And the ice appears to be responding.

With Summer minimums nearing, Antarctic sea ice extent is holding strong, tracking above the long-term average (1979 to present):

[Tony Heller]


As pointed out by Tony Heller, extent has increased 20% since this date in 2006 (the year Al Gore released his sci-fi movie):
https://electroverse.substack.com/p/antarctica-is-cooling-fast-one-of

Antarctica is wasting no time this year.

On March 23, temperatures at Vostok Station tanked to -73.4C (-100.1F), a level more typical of the deep winter core than the opening phase of the season.

The plateau is only just entering its long cooling phase, with the most extreme lows typically reserved for May through August.

Sub -70C readings in March are uncommon.

March 19 is among the earliest such dates on record — seen in 2020 (-70.8C / -95.4F) and again this year in 2026 (-70.1C / -94.2F). A further drop to -73.4C by March 23 is very rare, and a clear sign Antarctica is locking into winter early.
https://electroverse.substack.com/p/vostok-plunges-to-734c-as-deep-cold

Antarctica has just reset the bar for March cold.

On March 25, temperatures at Vostok Station fell to -76.4C (-105.5F), establishing a new March record for the continent.

The previous benchmark stood at -75.7C (-104.3F), recorded at Dome Fuji in 2013 (though this is considered unreliable), with other notable lows including -75.5C (-103.9F) at Plateau Station (1967) and Concordia (2025).

At Vostok itself, the prior March low was -75.3C (-103.5F), observed in 1982, 2020, and again yesterday (March 24, 2026).

Clear skies, extremely low humidity, and a stable air mass allowed for intense radiational cooling over the high Antarctic Plateau. With the sun rapidly disappearing below the horizon at this time of year, heat loss accelerates quickly.

March marks the beginning of the descent into Antarctica’s long winter phase. However, values this low are more characteristic of the deep winter core between July and August.

Antarctica is locking into winter fast this year—and has never been colder in the month of March (observations back to ~1957).
https://electroverse.substack.com/p/antarctica-sets-new-march-cold-record has just reset the bar for March cold.

On March 25, temperatures at Vostok Station fell to -76.4C (-105.5F), establishing a new March record for the continent.

The previous benchmark stood at -75.7C (-104.3F), recorded at Dome Fuji in 2013 (though this is considered unreliable), with other notable lows including -75.5C (-103.9F) at Plateau Station (1967) and Concordia (2025).

At Vostok itself, the prior March low was -75.3C (-103.5F), observed in 1982, 2020, and again yesterday (March 24, 2026).

Clear skies, extremely low humidity, and a stable air mass allowed for intense radiational cooling over the high Antarctic Plateau. With the sun rapidly disappearing below the horizon at this time of year, heat loss accelerates quickly.

March marks the beginning of the descent into Antarctica’s long winter phase. However, values this low are more characteristic of the deep winter core between July and August.

Antarctica is locking into winter fast this year—and has never been colder in the month of March (observations back to ~1957).
https://electroverse.substack.com/p/antarctica-sets-new-march-cold-record