US Woman Shifts To Antarctica, Shares Extreme Living Conditions At The South Pole – News18

It is known that both the poles of the Earth have temperatures which make the living conditions for people very tough. They receive little direct sunlight throughout the year; both the North and South Poles are extremely chilly. This is because of the positions of the poles on the spherical Earth. At the top is the North Pole, and at the bottom is the South Pole. The poles are often the topic of Christmas folklore, for example Santa Claus and Rudloph the reindeer, who are believed to visit us from the South Pole. Well, Santa (apart from the penguins) may be having a great time there but have you ever thought how the living conditions in the South Pole would affect a person from warmer areas? Let us hear it first hand from a woman who has relocated and lived near the South Pole for some time now.

Originally from San Francisco, Michelle Endo, 32, relocated to Antarctica in October of last year to take a job as a hospitality manager at the Amundsen-Scott Station. Although there are many benefits to living in the southernmost region of the world, like witnessing breathtaking views of the aurora australis and experiencing a number of once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, there are drawbacks as well, such as having to put up with extremely cold temperatures and spending months “isolated” in the dark.

According to the Daily Mail, Michelle says that the coldest temperature she witnessed last winter was -106 F with a wind chill of minus 150 F in late June. At the South Pole, the ambient temperature frequently soars to over three times that of a commercial freezer, which operates at approximately minus 4F. She would even simply leave food outside to freeze it. Michelle disclosed that acclimating to the 2,885-metre altitude takes ‘at least a week’, in addition to the extreme cold. “The pressure altitude also changes so you might go to sleep at 3000 metres but then wake up at 3,500 metres,” she explained.

In these regions, the sun comes out from November to February; these 6 months are called austral summer. There are some months during which there is neither darkness nor light. At the same time, after May 10, there is complete darkness for 6 months and the sun is not even visible.