Translated from www.xinhua.com        21st, November, 2004

Unlike what we know now, the Antarctica used to be warm 250 million years ago. Chinese scientists made the remark during their newly embarked trip to the South Pole.

This assumption was based on their discovery of fossils of three types of ancient deciduous plants in the South Pole. They also found fossils of the leaves around the spots. Judging from the possible diameter of the tree trunks, scientists projected that the tree could be as tall as 24.6 meters when they were in full swing. Thus some geologists believed that 250 million years ago, the Antarctica should be much warmer than today. But they also noted that only through half a year of darkness could the plants there manage to survive.

Species in the North Pole, however, are at the brink of distinction. A report studying the climate in the Arctic said recently. 

According to the four years’ study involving 300 plus scientists worldwide, temperature in the Arctic would rise by 4-7℃ by 2100, leading possibly to the sea level raise of 10 cm. The observed accelerated shrink of the glaciers in the Arctic was an indication of the catastrophe caused by green house effect. Together with the disappearance of the ice, some species in the Arctic like the polar bear and other continental animals would be forced to the north most of the earth.