New Record Low Temperature on Earth Set

Graphic Credit: planetearth.nerc.ac.uk

Despite the cool and wet weather we've been experiencing across the state for the past week, a new record for the coldest ever recorded temperature on Earth was announced yesterday by NASA scientists. And no, it wasn't anywhere near the Carolinas! In our neck of the woods, we scramble for cover when it dips below 30 degrees Fahrenheit and yet, imagine what it would be like if it reached -135.8 F. The record low was measured by satellite in East Antarctica in August of 2010, although it dipped to -135.3 F again in July of this year. That is far from the state record in South Carolina, which is a balmy -19 F recorded in January of 1985 at Caesars Head, although the temperature at nearby Mt. Mitchell in North Carolina reached -34 F in that same month.Very few creatures can survive such harsh temperatures, and humans would last only about three minutes without extreme support in temperatures below -100 F. Researchers who have been to the East Antarctica area before had to use snorkeling gear to breath in heated air from the outside as to not freeze their lungs. For a video about the climatology of the East Antarctic region, visit here. As you venture outside on cold winter mornings in the Carolinas to check your CoCoRaHS rain gauge, keep in mind those chilly temperatures could be a lot worse!