The sunrise countdown is on in Antarctica, as Spring looms for the coldest place on Earth

Saturday, 18 August 2018

On Sunday the sun will rise over the South Pole horizon for the first time since April, it will be brief, but it's a sign spring is on its way to the coldest place on Earth. 

It's gradually been getting brighter over the past few weeks, but for the researchers and scientists scattered around Antarctica, lunch has been eaten under the stars for nearly four months.

At this time of year sunlight illuminates the ice for only three hours a day. It's like being on the moon, and just as isolated.

Although there is no native population on Antarctica, there are about 40 permanent research stations, with an average of 1000 people living there year-round. 

**READ MORE: 

* Scott Base watches sun rise over Antarctica

* Antarctica travel tips: 20 ways to have the ultimate Antarctica trip

* Top places to watch the sun rise and set

* Kiwi adventurer Mark Sedon is at the forefront of Antarctic exploration**

Usually 12 Kiwis spend the winter at Scott Base - New Zealand's permanent Antarctic base which has been there for 61 years. 

They brave harsh winds and an inhuman cold that once, in July 1983, plunged below −89.2 degrees Celsius. 

In winter, Antarctic aliens are marooned by frozen sea ice and with the daily light being so short and the weather so extreme, there are no flights until November.

It's not only the coldest place on Earth, it's also the windiest, driest, and highest continent. 

The coldest temperature recorded in Antarctica was -89.6 degrees Celsius at Vostok station in 1983. 

The average winter temperature at the South Pole is about -49C - a home freezer is only about -15C - but the wind chill factor means that it can feel much colder.

Scott Base's coldest temperature ever recorded was -57C on 25 September 1968. Whereas the warmest temperature was 6.8C in January 1970.