Antarctica Temperature Ranges: From -10°C Coast to -90°C Plateau

Antarctica's temperatures vary radically by region and season. The continent's average annual temperature is approximately -57°C (-71°F), but this masks extreme gradients.

Coastal Regions (Maritime Antarctica)

• Annual mean: -10°C (14°F)
• Summer (Dec–Feb): -5°C to +5°C (23–41°F); northern peninsula occasionally >10°C
• Winter (Jun–Aug): -20°C to -30°C (-4 to -22°F)
• Examples: McMurdo Station (-17°C mean), Rothera (-5°C mean), Palmer (-3°C mean)

Inland / Continental Antarctica

• Annual mean: -55°C (-67°F)
• Summer: -25°C to -35°C (-13 to -31°F)
• Winter: -60°C to -75°C (-76 to -103°F)
• Examples: Vostok (-55°C mean), Amundsen-Scott South Pole (-49°C mean)

Antarctic Plateau (Highest, Coldest)

• Elevation: 3,000–4,000 m
• Annual mean: -57°C (-71°F)
• Winter minimum: -89.2°C (-128.6°F) recorded at Vostok (1983) — Earth's lowest natural temperature
• Satellite-measured: -93.2°C (-135.8°F) in East Antarctic hollows (2010)

Drivers of Extremes

• Radiative cooling: Clear, dry air + high albedo + long polar night
• Elevation: Lapse rate ~6.5°C/km
• Katabatic winds: Drain cold air coastward; create wind chill
• Temperature inversion: Surface colder than air above (traps pollutants)

Climate change signal: Peninsula warming +3°C (1950–2000); interior stable/slight cooling (ozone hole effect). West Antarctic Ice Sheet vulnerability is the critical threshold.