WorldAn Argentine research base near the northern tip of the Antarctic peninsula has set a heat record at a balmy 17.5 degrees Celsius (63.5 Fahrenheit), the U.N. weather agency said on Wednesday. The Experanza base set the high on March 24, 2015, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said after reviewing data around Antarctica to set benchmarks to help track future global warming and natural variations. The heat record for the broader Antarctic region, defined as anywhere south of 60 degrees latitude, was 19.8C (67.6F) on Jan. 30, 1982 on Signy Island in the South Atlantic, it said. And the warmest temperature recorded on the Antarctic plateau, above 2,500 metres (8,202 feet), was -7.0C (19.4F) on Dec. 28, 1980, it said. The lowest temperature set anywhere on the planet was a numbing -89.2C (-128.6F) at the Soviet Union's Vostok station in central Antarctica on July 21, 1983.

Source: Sunday Times March 01, 2017 13:58 UTC