Alert is the northernmost place on Earth where people live

The Canadian Alert, located on Ellesmere Island, is the northernmost settlement on Earth where people live permanently. A polar night reigns here for almost half a year, in winter the temperature drops to minus 50ºС, and to the North Pole of our planet only 837 kilometers.

Alert is located in a point on the globe that has coordinates 82º29'56 "north latitude. This settlement has the world's northernmost weather station, where scientists are constantly living, it was founded in 1950. Actually, the age of the settlement is also counted from this date In addition to the weather station, there is a scientific observatory for observing atmospheric phenomena, as well as a border military base of the Canadian army, with a total of 60 to 100 people living in this arctic village at different times of the year.

Ellesmere Island is Canada's northernmost island, on which a polar night lasts about 5 months. The climate of this northern region is arctic, with harsh winds and low temperatures. In winter, when the sun does not rise above the horizon, the temperatures on the island drop to minus 50ºС, in summer, during the polar day, the air can warm up to plus 15ºС, but usually summer temperatures are kept within + 5-10ºС.

Despite such a harsh climate, the inhabitants of Alert have neighbors on the island. On Ellesmere, there is another research station called Eureka (Eurika), as well as the Gris Fjord settlement, which is inhabited by the Inuit indigenous peoples of the Arctic.

Life in Alert is a severe test, so the military and scientists work here exclusively on a rotational basis, there is no permanent population here. Transport communication with the big earth is carried out by means of helicopters and airplanes. Twice a year, the bulk of the necessary cargo and fuel are brought into the village, although there are regular flights.

Despite the fact that Alert is located almost on the edge of the earth, the Olympic flame visited here on the eve of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.