What Kind of Houses Are There in Antarctica?

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There are no regular houses in Antarctica, but there are manned research stations that have comfortable living quarters with bedrooms, kitchen and bathroom facilities, living areas, offices, generator rooms and communication rooms. Expeditioners and scientists also stay in different forms of accommodations depending on their field activity. Some of the field accommodations include tents, shelters and huts equipped with food rations, lighting and cookers.

Antarctica is the least inhabited continent in the world due to its extreme weather conditions. It is the coldest, windiest and driest place in the world, making it unsuitable for long-term human habitation. The average annual temperature is negative 57.1 degrees Fahrenheit, with an average wind speed of 12.3 mph. The region’s location at the bottom of the world causes long periods of complete darkness during the winter and 24 hours of sunlight during summer. Even with 24 hours of sunshine, the temperature in Antarctica rarely rises to 10 degrees Fahrenheit.

Though largely uninhabited, about 5,000 researchers take turns visiting the continent to study the life forms and the ice in the region, even in the dead of winter. Tourists visit during the summer, with private shipping and aircraft companies specializing in Polar cruises and offering commercial tours of the continent. The ships and aircrafts used during the tours are often the same or similar to the expedition and navigation ships used for research purposes, but they are refurbished to provide comfort to summer tourists.