Measuring Temperature in Antarctica: Instruments & Extremes

Thermometer Types Used

• Mercury thermometers: Accurate, but toxic if broken; phased out at many stations.
• Alcohol (ethanol) thermometers: Safer, lower freezing point (-114 °C), slightly less precise.
• Platinum resistance thermometers (PRTs) / Digital sensors: Standard for automated weather stations (AWS); high accuracy, data logging, satellite uplink.

Deployment Standards (WMO)

• Stevenson screens (white louvered boxes) at 1.25–2 m above snow/ground.
• Shielded from solar radiation, wind, precipitation.
• Multiple heights (surface, 2 m, 10 m) for boundary-layer profiles.

Record Extremes

• Coldest: −89.2 °C (−128.6 °F) at Vostok Station, 21 July 1983.
• Warmest (South Pole): −13.6 °C (7.5 °F), 28 Dec 2018.
• Average South Pole: −56 °C (−69 °F).