Longyearbyen and Puerto Williams facing climate change

They are not the end of the world, but its beginning, where changes are observed; sisters with no other connection than the surf of the ocean. Longyearbyen (Norway), the northernmost city on the globe, and Puerto Williams (Chile), the southernmost, both lie at the foot of mountains, on the edge of ever-warming waters, surrounded by collapsing glaciers. Populated by flamboyant characters, adventurers, scientists or broken hearts, they live in self-sufficiency, cut off from the world.

We are born on the borders and we settle there too. It’s a choice. That of escaping where everything remains possible, knowing that living on these lands also implies weakening them. Tourism has boomed in Longyearbyen, which sees cruise ships and thousands of travelers disembark in summer.

Same problem in the southern hemisphere: very preserved until now, Puerto Williams will soon welcome its first luxury hotel for cruise passengers. Thus, the first seeks to curb its growth, the second, to develop. The last stops before the poles, these regions are at the forefront of the race for untapped wealth. Protected by multilateral treaties, they are on hold. But for how long?