The End Of The Antarctic Illusion: The Great Un-Freezing

The sky is falling — and resilience is breaking

The Great Un-Freezing (created by author)

March 2022. East Antarctica, the coldest place on Earth, morphs into something surreal. Temperatures surge 39°C (70°F) above normal in just three days — turning a typical −54°C into a near-balmy −15°C. Scientists at Concordia Station, normally bundled in layers against the brutal Antarctic cold, strip down to , stunned by the ever recorded on the planet.

Then, the unthinkable.

Warm rain falls where it shouldn’t, and within hours, the — a mass of ice sheet the size of Rome — disintegrates into the ocean. No thunderous collapse, no Hollywood-style warnings — just a quiet vanishing act, like a city wiped from the map overnight. And : ice sheets are no longer passive observers of climate change. The kind of event that once took centuries

July 30, 2024. It happens again.

Another heatwave smashes into East Antarctica — but this time, in the dead of winter. Ground temperatures soar 28°C (over 50°F) above normal. The South Pole station logs its since 2002, averaging 6.2°C (11°F) above normal. From , its temperatures resemble those of late February — summer…