Antarctic experienced an extraordinary heat anomaly this month, with the temperature hitting 15.4 degree Celsius on June 6, shattering the region's previous winter record and raising concerns about the rapid ice melt.

The early June reading, taken on the Trinity Peninsula by the Argentine research station Esperanza Base, surpassing the station's previous June record of 13.3 degrees Celsius set in 1998, and also far exceeding its June average of minus 6.2 degrees Celsius.

"This is absolutely crazy," said Raul Cordero, an Ecuadorian climate professor at the University of Groningen, as reported by The Guardian. "It is also about 20 degrees Celsius above normal for this time of the year. That is a huge anomaly."

Record heat was also observed at other Argentine Antarctic stations between June 5 and June 6. Marambio Base reached 11.8 degrees Celsius, far above its June average of -10.7 degrees Celsius and its previous record of 9.2 egrees Celsius, while San Martin Base recorded 9.4 degrees Celsius, compared with its June average of -5.6 degrees Celsius and its previous record of 7.8 degrees Celsius.

On King George Island, about 160 kilometers from Esperanza, researchers reported obvious surface changes after temperatures reached 4.6 degrees Celsius on June 6, with snow and ice rapidly melting and the landscape shifting from white to brown, grey, and green.

Chilean glaciologist Luis Munoz told The Guardian that it was "very strange," adding that the area would normally still be covered in around 20 centimeters of snow and a lot of ice on the ground at this time of year.