South Pole
In midsummer, as the sun reaches its maximum elevation of about 23.5 degrees, high temperatures at the South Pole in January average at . As the six-month "day" wears on and the sun gets lower, temperatures drop as well: they reach around sunset (late March) and sunrise (late September). In midwinter, the average temperature remains steady at around . The highest temperature ever recorded at the Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station was on Christmas Day, 2011, and the lowest was on June 23, 1982 (for comparison, the lowest temperature directly recorded anywhere on earth was at Vostok Station on July 21, 1983, though was measured indirectly by satellite in East Antarctica between Dome A and Dome F in August 2010). Mean annual temperature at the South Pole is -49.3 °C (-56.7 °F).
Antarctic Peninsula
Because the Antarctic Peninsula, which reaches north of the Antarctic Circle, is the most northerly part of Antarctica, it has the mildest climates within this continent. Its temperatures are warmest in January, averaging , and coldest in June, averages from . Its west coast from the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula south to 68°S, which has a maritime Antarctic climate, is the mildest part of the Antarctic Peninsula. Within this part of the Antarctic Peninsula, temperatures exceed for 3 or 4 months during the summer, and rarely fall below during the winter. Farther south along the west coast and the northeast coast of the peninsula, mean monthly temperatures exceed for only 1 or 2 months of summer and average around in winter. The east coast of the Antarctic Peninsula south of 63°S is generally much colder, with mean temperatures exceeding for only 0 or 1 month of summer, and winter mean temperatures ranging from . The colder temperatures of the southeast, Weddell Sea side, of the Antarctic Peninsula are reflected in the persistence of ice shelves that cling to the eastern side.
Precipitation varies greatly within the Antarctic Peninsula. From the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula south to 68 degrees South, precipitation averages per year. A good portion of this precipitation falls as rain during the summer, on two-thirds of the days of the year, and with little seasonal variation in amounts. Between about 68°S and 63°S on the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula and along its northeast coast, precipitation is or less with occasional rain. Along the east coast of the Antarctic Peninsula south of 63°S, precipitation ranges from . In comparison, the subantarctic islands have precipitation of per year and the dry interior of Antarctica is a virtual desert with only precipitation per year.