The Arctic Circle is closer to the Scottish Islands than England, but John Muir once wrote that ‘When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world’. What is happening in the Arctic Circle right now affects us. So how we live, affects nature and wildlife on ‘top of the world’;
The Arctic Circle covers parts of Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Russia and parts of Scandinavia. Alaska (owned by the USA) is the other country that juts into the Arctic Circle.
Here it’s daylight in summer and night-time in winter, all year. Not just polar bears, the Arctic Circle is also home to Arctix foxes, blue whales, orcas and many other creatures.
Do Humans Live on the Arctic Circle?
Hundreds of thousands of people live here too. Some have developed ‘reindeer vision’ where they can see in the dark and due to vitamin D deficiency, may sometimes babble nonsense (sounds like some of our MPs!)
There are a few cities. In Russia, there is Murmansk and Norilsk (the latter heavily polluted due to mining run-off). And the Norwegian city of Tromsø is where you can view the Northern Lights best in the world. Nearby Kvaløya Island is known for its peaceful swimming reindeer!
Not as cold as Antarctica, but the Russian town of Oymakon is the world’s coldest. Car engines keep running to avoid freezing and you can’t wear spectacles, as they would freeze to your face! Others say the cities of Yakutsk (in East Siberia) and Verkhoyansk are colder.
Some people get depressed in winter, due to lack of daylight. And locals nearly all end up with mild frostbite on exposed facial areas. Some people even ‘run to warm bus shelters’, and some even freeze to death, if they get stranded in cars with flat batteries. Others die of breathing problems due to icy air. As a result, all healthcare is free.
Environmental Concerns in the Arctic
The Arctic Ocean (the world’s smallest) is home to 10% of the world’s fresh water including Greenland’s ice sheet, which is melting due to climate change. This is causing seas to rise and current estimates of a 7.3 metre rise would be catastrophic to all life forms on earth.
Endangered polar bears need cold weather, as without it they have to swim in warmer waters to hunt seals for them and their cubs. Nima Sarikhani’s photo of a polar bear sleeping on a tiny iceberg (carving a bed with his paws) has highlighted concerns. One polar bear recently died from bird flu, after feeding on infected birds.
Greenpeace campaigners are concerned on Trump’s election, on how drilling for oil will affect wildlife, as the area contains 160 billion barrels and a third of the world’s natural gas. The Greenpeace Nordic Case is an ongoing battle between six young activists, trying to persuade the Norwegian government to not hand out licenses to drill for more oil.
How Can England Help the Arctic Circle?
- Live a simple sustainable life (this is the answer to almost everything, in order to prevent climate change and pollution.
- Switch to clean energy. Ecotricity is one of the best, as it doesn’t produce ‘green energy’ by burning animal carcasses from abattoirs, which some companies do. Moving away from fossil fuels is the most effective way to bring down rising temperatures.
- Choose recycled paper products (paper tissues, paper towels and bathroom tissue, along with buying items from reclaimed wood over new). This helps prevent logging in Boreal rainforests.
The world cannot live without the Arctic; it affects every living thing on Earth. And acts as a virtual thermostat, reflecting sunlight and cooling the planet. Philippe Cousteau Jr
The Arctic is a harshly inhospitable place, but the conditions there are precisely what polar bears require to survive – and thrive. ‘Harsh’ to us is ‘home’ for them. Take away the ice and snow, increase the temperature by even a little, and the realm that makes their lives possible, literally melts away. Sylvia Earle
Can You See the Northern Lights in England?
The Northern Lights (also known by their proper name of Aurora Borealis) are an amazing natural spectacle, when coloured skies fill the sky. Common in Scandinavia, you usually only see them in England after severe storms.
If you do happen to see them, it will be easier if you live somewhere with no light pollution, as they are far easier to see in dark skies with no cloud cover, and you have to look north!
The amazing colours are caused due to electrons hitting gaseous particles, as they enter eart’s atmosphere. Oxygen generates green lights (lower altitude) and red lights (higher altitude) while nitrogen causes the blue and purple lights.
Recently in England, a rare event occurred, when people as far south as London and Kent saw incredible pink displays of the Northern Lights, which hardly ever happens.
Concerns over Blackpool Lighting Plans
Although astronomers are aware that the Blackpool lights bring in substantial tourism income, they say that plans to create an an artificial ‘aurora borealis’ (northern lights) by way of a 1KW laser to shine in the sky, would not just blight the night sky, but ruin views across the county (and also for Merseyside, Cumbria, North Wales and even Isle of Man).
