10 facts about Antarctica

1. Antarctica is the coldest, windiest, highest and driest continent on the planet.
2. Antarctica contains 90% of the world's ice.
3. One of the biggest dangers to researchers and others living on the continent is actually fire. The dry environment makes it very possible and hard to stop.
4. In wintertime, the sea ice around Antarctica grows at the rate of 40,000 square miles a day.
5. Antarctica’s ice is so heavy that it deforms the South Pole. In fact, its weight makes the Earth look slightly pear shaped.
6. Antarctica holds the top spot for the lowest recorded temperature on Earth, which was -129°F (-84.5°C) at the Russian Vostok station in 1983. At this temperature steel will shatter and water will explode into ice crystals.
7. There are no countries in Antarctica; the continent is governed by an international treaty (the Antarctic Treaty). Today seven countries have made territorial claims (Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway and UK), but not all countries, including the USA and Russia, recognise these claims.
8. Mount Erebus is the only active volcano in Antarctica.
9. The number of breeding pairs of penguins in Antarctica is estimated to be 20 million.
10. During summer more radiation reaches the South Pole than the equator. This is because the hole in the ozone layer above the Antarctic is the largest on record at 27 million square km.