temperature rise

2023 Monitoring Report on the German Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change

Antarctica is the driest and coldest continent on Earth. Only in the west temperatures reach the freezing point during the warmest month, January; otherwise, the annual average temperature of - 55°C is far colder. However, the Antarctic is also affected by global climate change: it is warming up, especially around the Antarctic Peninsula, more rapidly than the rest of the world.

Global mean surface air temperature has risen gradually since the age of industrialisation. It is now accepted as scientifically proven that we humans are responsible for a significant part of this increase. Hence one speaks of anthropogenic, or man-made, climate change.