The average temperature in Antarctica was 8.6°F warmer than average. On the same day the average temperature in the Arctic was 6°F higher than normal. It is very uncommon to see high temperatures across both polar regions at the same time. Scientist were particularly surprised by the heat wave in Antarctica because temperatures there every made more stable overall compared to the Arctic.
I personally experienced the warm conditions in the Arctic several years ago when I was on a National Geographic explanation that traveled to within 400 miles of the North Pole and we still did not hit any thick ice concentrations. (See photo of that trip below - from left to right, my self, my wife Gail, Susan Isakof, Robert & Leslie Singer).
I hate to think that the same degree of warming is now affecting Antarctica.
