Earth Records Coldest Temperature in 14 Years at Antarctica’s Concordia Station

Earth has recorded its coldest temperature in 14 years. On July 18, Antarctica’s French-Italian Concordia Research Station measured an astonishing -84.1°C (-119.4°F), the lowest air temperature recorded by a weather station anywhere on Earth since 2012. The reading came just 0.5°C (0.9°F) shy of Concordia’s all-time record. More importantly, the measurement is coming on the back of a record-breaking winter heatwave in a different part of the continent. 

The Concordia Research Station sits at 3,233 meters (10,607 feet) at a latitude of 75° South, deep within the Antarctic continent, on an outcrop of ice known as Dome C. Underneath the small, remote cluster of buildings and equipment lies over 3 kilometers (1.86 miles) of ice. 

The Coldest Place on Earth?

Concordia’s nearest neighbor is the Russian outpost of Vostok, about 600 kilometers (370 miles) away. Vostok holds the record for the lowest temperature ever directly recorded on Earth at ground level: −89.2°C (−128.6°F). 

Both stations sit atop the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, which is considered the coldest place on Earth. Though ground-level readings by weather stations are considered the most reliable, satellites, including NASA’s Landsat 8, have detected surface temperatures as low as -98°C (-144°F) in East Antarctica. These are not standard air temperature recordings, but they do tell us that the coldest naturally occurring air on Earth is likely higher up on the remote ice ridges of East Antarctica, above the Concordia and Vostok stations.

Why Did It Become So Cold?

“Even here, where extreme cold is expected, temperatures below -84°C (-119.2°F) are remarkable,” Concordia station leader Gabriele Carugati told Live Science. Several factors must align to bottom out the mercury like this. 

Firstly, Antarctica is in the midst of polar night. At Concordia station specifically, the sun does not shine for about 105 days each winter – nearly three and a half months. No sun means no incoming solar energy. And since we are now several weeks past the winter solstice, it’s been three months since any solar energy reached land. 

Secondly, the atmosphere was exceptionally devoid of water vapor. The East Antarctic Ice Sheet is not only a desert, it’s one of the driest places on the planet. The Concordia station receives at most 2-8 cm (1-3 inches) of snow annually. Snow that does fall never melts, which is why East Antarctica holds 90% of the world’s ice. But even by those standards, the atmosphere was unusually dry, allowing heat to escape into space — the opposite of the greenhouse effect caused by water vapor and certain gases. 

The final ingredient was a particularly strong polar vortex. As much of the rest of the planet bakes under relentless heatwaves, cold air is locked over Antarctica. The “polar vortex” is one of those weather buzzwords that we hear when the circulation breaks down, usually during the Northern Hemisphere winter. Major cities can experience intense cold well into the median latitudes. 

• Related: The Polar Vortex: A Treatise

Weather vs. Climate

Climate describes long-term averages. Weather describes what happens on a particular day in a particular place. Antarctica can reach temperatures below -80°C (-112°F) because of elevation, polar night, and an extremely dry atmosphere. At the same time, it can experience a record-breaking winter heatwave, both amidst rising global temperatures.

In 2026, Earth is averaging about 1.45°C to 1.47°C (2.61°F to 2.65°F) warmer than the pre-industrial baseline (1850–1900 average). Scientists and governments agree that this is the most significant contributing factor in the persistent heatwaves during the Northern Hemisphere summer this year. It also means 2026 will likely finish as the second-warmest year on record behind 2024.