Not really comparing like with like though is it. These measurements were taken by satellite so presumably are more like measuring the ground temp rather than the 2-metre temp like a proper screen reading. It's not a case of the record being broken, it's a case of changing the rule book.
Someone get a Stevenson screen down (up) there!
Edit - actually Neil the bit I find surprising is that the record low has only been lowered by about 4C. If you search every available spot on the continent of course you will pick up frost hollows that don't have met stations - especially somewhere like Antarctica! Amazing that the Vostok reading was so low. I wonder what the temp up on the ridge was when Vostok recorded -89c?
On a related note, if you applied the same technique to the UK I bet you could find some spots that beat the accepted record. Minus 30 somewhere in the glens in the right nights.
Edited by user
Tuesday, December 10, 2013 10:45:34 AM
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Reason: Not specified
Yateley, NE Hampshire, 73m asl
"But who wants to be foretold the weather? It is bad enough when it comes, without our having the misery of knowing about it beforehand." — Jerome K. Jerome