Anissa Katti,

Editor (Science)

 

ANTARCTICA – It comes to no great surprise that Antarctica remains, to this day, the continent that is suffering most from global warming. Over the past 50 years, meteorological analysis has shown that its temperature has increased by 2°C, which represents practically three times the temperature rise worldwide.

Antarctica possesses three plane stations- Casey, Davies and Mawson, taken up mainly by research scientists.  The landing strip near Casey has begun to melt and become virtually impossible to access. The Antarctic Division has, therefore, had to resort in finding new areas in order to establish a new landing band. So far, scientists and the support staff, which are constantly on the territory, are relying on Chinese ships to provide the necessities to organize research and provide livelihoods.

Since 2009, only 20 flights of the 44 planned have managed to land on the icy continent. This can be explained both by the meltdowns proceeding at an alarming pace and by the minus 5°C required for any plane to touch ground. The environmental crisis could seriously slow down scientific research in Antarctica.