Oscar Wisting, Olav Bjaaland, Sverre Hassel and Roald Amundsen at the South Pole, 14 December 1911. Photo: Helmer Hannsen/NasjonalbiblioteketNorway has a long history in the Polar Regions. Not only do Norwegians live closer to the North Pole than most other humans, they have also been travelling to both the Arctic and the Antarctic for more than one hundred years. Today, Norway is the only country in the world that both has territories in the Arctic and maintains territorial claims in the Antarctic.
The Antarctic is the highest and driest continent in the world and is 40 times larger than Norway. An ice cap covers 98 per cent of the Antarctic and accounts for over 90 per cent of all land ice in the world. The ice is up to 4776 metres thick. The lowest temperature recorded is minus 89.2º C. Seven countries have territorial claims in the Antarctic. These claims have been frozen in the Antarctic Treaty, and today the continent is dedicated to peace and research. Many countries have research stations in the Antarctic. There has been a permanent base at the South Pole since 1957. As many as 4000 people live at the research stations in the summer.
While the Antarctic is a land mass surrounded by oceans, the Arctic is an ocean surrounded by national states with sovereign rights to sea areas off their coasts in accordance with international law. The five Arctic Ocean coastal states – Canada, Denmark/Greenland, Norway, Russia and the US – enjoy sovereign rights and have jurisdiction over maritime zones and continental shelves to the Arctic Ocean in the same way as it applies to any other sea area.
The Arctic is experiencing some of the most rapid and severe effects of climate change in the world, and the rate and severity of these changes is expected to increase. Melting ice in the arctic will affect the rest of the planet through increased global warming and rising sea levels. Changes in the Arctic will also affect the weather and ecosystems all over the globe.
Opening in mid-January 2012, an exhibition showing the historical journey and today’s challenges related to climate change in the Polar Regions will be organised by the Norwegian Embassy in Bangkok and the National Science Museum of Thailand.