Jan. 4 (UPI) — Chilean President Gabriel Boric has become the first leader in the Americas to visit the South Pole, his government confirmed.
Boric arrived at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station Friday, where the temperature sat at more than 20 degrees below zero.
The president’s trip was meant to reinforce Chile’s claim to sovereignty in part of Antarctica.
Chilean President Gabriel Boric arrived at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station Friday, where the temperature sat at more than 20 degrees below zero, with the trip meant to reinforce Chile’s claim to sovereignty in part of Antarctica. File Photo courtesy of NASA
Chile’s Minister of Environment Maisa Rojas posted a video on X of herself along with Boric recorded at the South Pole.
Boric’s entourage on the two-day voyage dubbed Operation Pole Star III included scientists, military personnel and members of his own government cabinet.
“This is a milestone for us. It’s the first time a Chilean president has come to the South Pole and talked about Chile’s Antarctic mission,” Boric said on a Chilean TV broadcast after arriving,
Named after Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen, the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station is the southernmost year-round research station in the world and operated by the U.S. National Science Foundation.
Boric said Chile is looking to expand its scientific and environmental footprints in the region, where the country’s activities have historically been limited to the northern sector of the Antarctic Peninsula.
“Operation Pole Star III will extend environmental monitoring of concentrations of natural and anthropogenic pollutants on the Antarctic continent, with an emphasis on black carbon. It will also provide first-hand knowledge of the management of environmental standards implemented at the Amundsen-Scott Station, with a view to obtaining knowledge for the operation of current and future Antarctic bases in Chile, the Chilean government said in a release on its website.
“This visit is important as the government is working intensively on promoting science, environmental protection and economic growth. It also takes place at an important time for the scientific activities that Chile is carrying out in the area, which we are now expanding with the incorporation of the Almirante Óscar Viel icebreaker.”
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Publish date : 2025-01-04 06:10:00
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