South Pole Back Below -70C; Modern Record Shows Temperature First, CO2 Second; New Sunspot 4513 Erupts; + The Rockefeller Climate Machine

The deep Antarctic cold has returned to the South Pole, with Amundsen–Scott dropping to -72.9C (-99.2F) on Aug 20.

The day’s mean came in at -70.6C (-95.1F)—a hefty 11.1C below normal.

Cold conditions are persisting into Aug 21.

The latest South Pole observation had temperatures below -70C (-94F), with easterly winds continuing across the plateau.

The renewed plunge follows repeated bouts of severe cold through the austral winter.

After an unusually cold June and July, August 2026 is now on course to make it three colder-than-normal months in succession — this month is averaging roughly -61.5C (-78.7F) through Aug 20, versus an August norm of -59.7C (-75.5F).

Winter was harsh, and now it isn’t letting go.

Arctic summer sea ice stopped falling around 2007, with 2026 on course to extend that pause.

The NSIDC itself has acknowledged the shift. Its analysis of September sea-ice extent found the 2007–2021 trend was so slight that it was not statistically significant—a “near-zero trend.”

And the pause has since held for another 5 years, through 2026.

After starting this year’s melt season relatively low, ice loss slowed sharply through late July and August.

September Arctic sea ice extent has shown no downward trend for almost two decades.

For decades, the famous temperature-before-CO2 relationship has been associated mainly with ancient ice cores. A new study argues that the same sequence is plainly visible today.