Paddling to the North Pole in melting Arctic
As Arctic ice is on its second-lowest on record, British Lewis Pugh is preparing for his historic kayak trip to the North Pole. The stunt is made as part of his campaign to draw attention to the disappearing ice in the Arctic.
-The kayak will convey my message about needing to protect the Arctic and showing the public what is happening in the Arctic, Mr. Pugh says to BBC World. From before, Mr Pugh is known for his last year’s swim at the North Pole.
The swim comes as the National Snow and Ice Data Centre in its latest brief warns that the ice level in the Arctic could reach the lowest ever on record. Sea ice extent has now fallen below the 2005 minimum, previously the second-lowest extent recorded since the dawn of the satellite era, the brief reads. The next few weeks will show whether the ice will drop below last year’s record low. The 2005 minimum, at 5.32 million square kilometers, held the record-low minimum until last year.
Mr. Pugh intends to attract the world’s attention to the changes in the region. He is not sure if he will make it all the way to the North Pole point, however.
-There is one part of me which really hopes I get there […] which will show world leaders just how much the Arctic has melted and how much this will affect each one of us, but the other part of me says I really hope I do not get there, I hope I fail, because it is a very worrying situation to be able to kayak over what used to be a frozen ocean, the explorer says to BBC World
The British explorer will start his 1200 km trip from Spitsbergen this month, the project webside Polardefenceproject.org reports.
