• Question: how cold is the Antarctic and why do penguins not fly

    Asked by 573dysb52 to James on 18 Mar 2015.
    • Photo: James Pope

      James Pope answered on 18 Mar 2015:

      Hi 573dysb52

      As I type (5:17pm on the 18th March), the weather stations we have on Antarctica reveal that

      Rothera -2.2 degrees celcius – Our base on the Antarctic Peninsula
      Halley -8.8 degrees celcius – A base on the Antarctic coast, further south than Rothera
      South Pole -53.5 degrees celcius

      We are starting to shut our bases down on Antarctica and soon they will be left with their winter crews of 20 at Rothera and 13 at Halley. They will be on their own for 5 months, totally isolated with no way to get out and very very poor internet access!

      Penguins don’t fly, because they evolved to fish in water and breed on land, so their bodies adapted so they could swim quickly, at the cost of being unable to fly.

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