UN Chief Makes Antarctica Visit

Mr Ban - the first UN chief to visit the continent - wanted to see for himself the effects of climate change on the world's largest wilderness.

After flying over melting glaciers, he told reporters that what he had seen had been both "extraordinarily beautiful" and "disturbing".

Mr Ban is preparing to host a climate conference in Indonesia in December.

The secretary general flew to Antarctica from southern Chile, and was briefed by experts about the impact of global warming on the frozen continent.

Antarctica is home to about 90% of the world's ice, but scientists say some parts are melting fast.


In some areas of the continent, temperatures have risen by as much as 3C in the past 50 years - prompting penguins to move inland in search of colder habitats.

Over the next century global warming could speed up the melting of the polar ice caps, causing major flooding of lowlands and changes in crop production, experts have warned.