Minus 119 degrees at Antarctica's Concordia Station on July 18 marked the coldest temperature recorded anywhere on Earth since 2012, though the reading is still provisional pending official validation.
Concordia came within 0.5 degree of its all-time low because it sits more than 10,000 feet up on the Antarctic plateau during polar night, where thin, extremely dry air traps almost no heat.
The reading still fell short of Earth's all-time record of minus 128.6 degrees, set at Russia's Vostok Station in 1983.
Late-August is usually the coldest point of the Southern Hemisphere winter, meaning Antarctica could still post lower temperatures in the weeks ahead.
The plunge came as Death Valley reached 121 degrees and Palm Springs 114, underscoring a roughly 240-degree global temperature swing in the same month.
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Concordia Station’s -84.1°C Cold Snap: Breaking Antarctic Records in a Warming World
Overview
On July 18, 2026, Antarctica experienced an extreme cold snap when Concordia Station, located on the high Dome C plateau at 3,200 meters elevation, recorded a provisional temperature of -84.1°C. This reading marked the coldest temperature on Earth since 2012, breaking a decade-long record for the continent and coming close to Concordia’s all-time low. The station’s unique environment—featuring a thick 4,000-meter ice cap and special atmospheric conditions—drives such frigid temperatures, making it a key site for climate and atmospheric research in one of the harshest places on the planet.