Today at the South Pole it is -44 degrees C (-48 F), with a chill factor of -58 C (72 F). As many of you realize, the South Pole is a pretty unique place. One thing that makes it unique is the low air temperatures that are here. Attached is a figure of South Pole air temperatures. Shown are the 45-year average daily, average max and min daily, and extreme max and min daily, and the 2008 daily max and min through 26 October, air temperature data.

At the South Pole Station the maximum temperature was -13.6 C (+7.5 F) on 27 December 1978; the minimum temperature was -82.8 C (-117.0 F) on 23 June 1982; and the average temperature is -49.4 C (-56.9 F). Camp Winter is approximately 350 meters (1000 feet) higher than South Pole, so we expect the temperatures there to be as much as several degrees colder than at the Pole. By looking at the temperature figure it is clear we are now in the middle of the big ‘spring’ warm up! This will be very welcome as we move towards doing the vehicle repairs at Camp Winter.