Publication Date December 21, 2016 | Mashable

North Pole to warm to near melting point this week: 50 degrees above normal

North Pole
Five-day average temperature departure from normal, showing the unusually warm conditions near the pole and frigid conditions in Siberia. Image: Climate Reanalyzer
Five-day average temperature departure from normal, showing the unusually warm conditions near the pole and frigid conditions in Siberia. Image: Climate Reanalyzer

The temperature at the North Pole is projected to spike to around the melting point, or 32 degrees Fahrenheit, on Wednesday into Thursday, despite the complete lack of sunshine that far north in December. 

Such temperatures would be about 50 degrees above average for this time of year, exceeding the color scale on some weather maps. (Typically, air temperatures at the pole don’t start periodically rising above freezing until at least May.)