Record Temperature in the Antarctic

This beats the previous record from nearly five years ago by over one degree Fahrenheit.

[R]esearchers stationed at the Esperanza research station at the northern tip of the Antarctic peninsula found that temperatures reached 64.9º Fahrenheit (18.3º Celsius)—the highest temperature logged since scientists began recording the continent’s temperature in 1961.

Update (February 14):  Another (non-continental) temperature record for Antarctica.

The 20.75C [69F] logged by Brazilian scientists at Seymour Island on 9 February was almost a full degree higher than the previous record of 19.8C, taken on Signy Island in January 1982.

Update (February 23):  A satellite image from NASA shows how much melting occurred in just a few days on an Antarctic island.