Antarctica temperature map
Antarctica is the coldest, driest and windiest continent. The globe here looks straight down at the South Pole and shows the air temperature at two metres above the ground, in degrees Celsius, from the NOAA GFS model.
Find the high plateau of East Antarctica, a dome of ice more than 3,000 metres high. Its interior holds the lowest values on the map, often below minus 50 degrees in winter. The coldest air ever measured on Earth, near minus 90 degrees, was recorded on this plateau.
The coast is much milder. Around the margin and over the Antarctic Peninsula, which reaches towards South America, temperatures can sit close to freezing in summer. Notice the sharp contrast between the plateau and the sea along the edge of the continent.
Because over most of the continent the sun never sets in summer and never rises in winter, the daily cycle that shapes other regions is almost absent here. Expect slow changes in the forecast rather than daily swings. Data is updated four times a day, with 48 hours of forecast.