When thinking about the polar regions (Arctic and Antarctic) one of the first things that comes to mind is a remote, pristine place. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case. Due to human activities all around the world, some contaminants are reaching the poles at concerning levels. Our planet is a network of connected systems, so what happens in our countries at lower latitudes has an impact on the polar regions. In turn, we will feel the effect of changes happening in other regions of the world. Furans, cadmium, lead, dioxins, chlordane, selenium, PCBs, DDT, mercury, and radioactive fallout are now a part of the polar ecosystems. Although the pollution levels in the high latitudes aren’t as high as in the industrialized areas of North America, Europe and Asia, it is still concerning.

The human population in the polar regions is small, so most of the contaminants that are found there are not produced or released to the environment there. The poles are contaminated because we are polluting other areas of the world. For example, the ozone hole (a region where the Ozone layer is thinner, which allows harmful ultra violet light (UV) to get through the earth’s atmosphere) is situated over the South pole and it was caused by the pumping of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) by the industrialized world over a long time period. This is one of the best examples of pollutants that are produced in one place having an effect on another.

So how do those contaminants get there? Through global systems like atmospheric circulation and ocean currents! Global atmospheric circulation carries near surface air pollutants from mid-latitude areas and brings them to higher altitudes in the polar region, where they descend again and are deposit in the soil, water or snow. The atmospheric contaminants can accumulate in glaciers and be discharged again to the environment when the ice starts to melt. It is still possible to find DDT (a toxic pesticide previously used worldwide) in Antarctic glaciers, and it was banned in 1972! Pollutants also reach the poles through ocean currents that move water around the globe. Chemical pollutants released from industries are carried by rivers to the oceans and then they move North or South via these ocean currents, and finally into the polar oceans.

These contaminants have a large impact on what has long been regarded as one of the most fragile ecosystems on the planet. Impacts include behavioural changes in animals such as changes in foraging habits, and even foetus and egg development. Similarly, soils can be infertile. Concurrently with global warming, sea level rise, ocean acidification, these stress factors are putting the fauna and flora in a very vulnerable habitat in danger.

Artic and Antarctic regions can be seen as “the canary in the coal mine”. Due to their unique environmental conditions they can work as an indicator and warning sign for what we are doing to our planet. So what can you do to try and stop this? At the global level it is difficult, as most of these contaminants are produced by large scale industries, mining extractions and transportation of people or goods. But at a local level we can monitor and regulate contaminants we put in landfills and release to the environment. And at an individual level, everyone can start changing small habits, using more efficient modes of transport, decreasing energy consumption, and start following the 3 R’s (Reduce the waste that we produce, Reuse things instead of throwing things away, and Recycle what you can). This will slow down the production and emissions of these pollutants and will help to maintain the conditions that we need to live on planet earth.