<P> The lowest recorded temperature of any location on Earth's surface was − 93.2 ° C (− 135.8 ° F) at 81 ° 48 ′ S 63 ° 30 ′ E ﻿ / ﻿ 81.8 ° S 63.5 ° E ﻿ / - 81.8; 63.5, which is on an unnamed Antarctic plateau between Dome A and Dome F, on 10 August 2010 . The temperature was deduced from radiance measured by the Landsat 8 satellite, and discovered during a National Snow and Ice Data Center review of stored data in December, 2013 . This temperature is not directly comparable to the - 89.2 quoted above, since it is a skin temperature deduced from satellite - measured upwelling radiance, rather than a thermometer - measured temperature of the air 1.5 m (4.9 ft) above the ground surface . </P> <P> On the coast Antarctic average temperatures are around - 10 ° C (in the warmest parts of Antarctica) and in the elevated inland they average about - 55 ° C in Vostok . </P> <P> The highest temperature ever recorded in Antarctica was 17.5 ° C (63.5 ° F) at Esperanza Base, on the Antarctic Peninsula, on 24 March 2015 . The mean annual temperature of the interior is − 57 ° C (− 70.6 ° F). The coast is warmer . Monthly means at McMurdo Station range from − 26 ° C (− 14.8 ° F) in August to − 3 ° C (26.6 ° F) in January . At the South Pole, the highest temperature ever recorded was − 12.3 ° C (9.9 ° F) on 25 December 2011 . Along the Antarctic Peninsula, temperatures as high as 15 ° C (59 ° F) have been recorded, though the summer temperature is below 0 ° C (32 ° F) most of the time . Severe low temperatures vary with latitude, elevation, and distance from the ocean . East Antarctica is colder than West Antarctica because of its higher elevation . The Antarctic Peninsula has the most moderate climate . Higher temperatures occur in January along the coast and average slightly below freezing . </P> <P> The total precipitation on Antarctica, averaged over the entire continent, is about 166 millimetres (6.5 inches) per year (Vaughan et al., J Climate, 1999). The actual rates vary widely, from high values over the Peninsula (15 to 25 inches a year) to very low values (as little as 50 millimetres (2.0 inches) in the high interior (Bromwich, Reviews of Geophysics, 1988). Areas that receive less than 250 millimetres (9.8 inches) of precipitation per year are classified as deserts . Almost all Antarctic precipitation falls as snow . Rainfall is rare and mainly occurs during the summer in coastal areas and surrounding islands . Note that the quoted precipitation is a measure of its equivalence to water, rather than being the actual depth of snow . The air in Antarctica is also very dry . The low temperatures result in a very low absolute humidity, which means that dry skin and cracked lips are a continual problem for scientists and expeditioners working in the continent . </P>

What is the average summer temperature in antarctica