The Wider Image: Climate change thaws world's northernmost research station
Kings Bay AS receptionist and safety instructor Christer Amundsen (right), 32, demonstrates how to fire a flare gun to a group of residents and scientists during safety training, at the shooting range near Ny-Aalesund, Svalbard, Norway, April 5, 2023. Ny-Alesund has only about 35 year-round residents but, in summer, the population swells to more than 100 as scientists fly in from across the world to the town, where the daily life centers around its diversions - a sauna, a sled dog yard, and a weekly nighttime gathering called "Strikk og Drikk," or "Knit and Sip," during which residents stitch sweaters over a glass of wine. "The dark season is really nice," said town safety instructor Christer Amundsen, who has lived in Ny-Alesund full-time since 2019, referring to the October to February period when the sun never crests the horizon, bright stars fill the sky and blue-green auroras shimmer over the settlement. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner SEARCH "NIESNER ICE" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.