Antarctica, the vast frozen continent at the South Pole and the world’s largest desert, is known for its harsh, icy landscape and extremely cold temperatures, dropping as low as -90°C in winter. But things are changing fast. Due to global warming, parts of Antarctica are starting to look different. 

For many people, the word "desert" brings to mind hot places like the Thar or Sahara deserts. However, Antarctica is also a desert, but it is cold instead of hot. It hardly gets any rain and has very little plant life.

Since 1950, Antarctica’s temperature has risen by about 3°C – a big increase compared to other places on Earth. This has led to more ice melting and a surprising change: small green plants, like moss, are starting to grow. 

A team of researchers, including experts from the University of Exeter, have studied this change using satellites. They found that the green areas with plants on the Antarctic Peninsula have increased from less than one square kilometer to almost 12 square kilometers between 1986 and 2021. This plant growth has sped up, especially in years when the winter sea ice is less.

Thomas Roland, one of the scientists, said, "The plants on the Antarctic Peninsula, mainly moss, survive in very harsh conditions. But we can see these green patches are getting bigger as the climate warms."

Oliver Bartlett, another scientist, said that as the temperature keeps rising, more plants might grow. “The soil in Antarctica is very poor or sometimes not there at all. But with more plants, the soil could improve, allowing even more plants to grow.”

This is a clear sign of how climate change is impacting even the most remote places on Earth. Researchers are continuing their studies and emphasize the need to understand these changes. Taking steps to protect Antarctica and the environment as a whole is now more important than ever.

Tags

• antarctica
• south pole
• climate change

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