Operating the first atmospheric monitoring station in Antarctica

China said its first atmospheric monitoring station in Antarctica began operations this week, in a move aimed at monitoring changes in Antarctica and strengthening the global response to climate change.

China’s National Weather Service’s Zhongshan Background Station will conduct “continuous, long-term operational observations of concentration changes in atmospheric components in Antarctica,” Xinhua News Agency quoted the China Meteorological Administration as saying.

The station is located in the Larsman Hills region of East Antarctica.

Ding Minghu, director of the Institute of Global Change and Polar Meteorology under the Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, said that the polar regions serve as “microphones” for global climate change.

He added that the monitoring data that the station will collect will have “unique geographical advantages and scientific value” and will contribute to studying the impact of human activities on the environment.

In February, China opened a scientific research station in the Ross Sea region of Antarctica. It also has five other research stations in Antarctica that were built between 1985 and 2014.