United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres visited Antarctica before the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 28), to be held in Dubai between November 30 and December 12. Visiting the German scientific center located at the Chilean research station Bernardo O’Higgins Base with Chilean President Gabriel Boric, Guterres received information about the studies carried out to monitor changes in ice crusts with the use of satellites. He then visited Chile’s Eduardo Frei station.
“I was shocked to learn that in September, the ice crust around Antarctica was 1,500 square kilometers less than in previous years. This area is equal to the sum of Portugal, Spain, France, and Germany. I was also surprised to learn that the ice in Antarctica as well as Greenland is melting three times faster than in the 1990s,” said the UN Secretary-General.