For almost a month, the French territory of Amsterdam Island in the southern Indian Ocean is imbued with a flame.
Located about halfway between Australia, Antarctica and Madagascar, the island recorded combustion to more than 55% of its 54 square kilometers area.
The island of Amsterdam does not have a permanent population, but researchers have been stationed there since the 1980s.
Ever since the fires broke out, 31 people were evacuated on the island of Réunion, closer to Madagascar. Last week, the French authorities launched a fire control mission and evaluate their influence.
The latest flame was discovered on January 15th by a scientist who explored the atmosphere.
According to a report of the climate and environmental science laboratory (LCE), it broke out near the observatory of the Pointte Bénédicte, which in the atmosphere is monitored by greenhouse gases, live and aerosols.
Despite the best efforts of the population, the fire spread to the research base in Martin-de-Viviès. The next day, they were evacuated by a fisherman’s boat of Jastog, Austral, who cruised nearby.
Rémi Chazot, a computer scientist based on the island, told Le Monde journalists that the group was “incredibly happy” that the ship was in the area.
“This ship was supposed to leave a week earlier, but he didn’t catch the lobster quota. Otherwise, things would get complicated.”
The evacuated have since been transferred to socializing, the second French territory.
The fire spread across the island of Amsterdam due to dry conditions and strong winds. The island does not have a river and winds can reach up to 40 km/h (24 mph). It is considered to be partly spread through the island network of peat wetlands.
Although the full scale of the damage has not yet been estimated, satellite images have shown that the island solar panels have influenced the fire, as well as its food and communication lines.
Conservators also expressed concern about the effect on wildlife.
Due to its unusual climate, the island is rich in biodiversity, and serves as a place of cultivation for the seal of the southern elephant and sub-anarctic fur.
It contains several types of Albatros, including Amsterdam Albatross, which are grown exclusively on the island, and 84% of the world’s yellow nose population. The colony of southern Rockhopper Penguin also lives on the island.
Due to its distance and subsequent lack of pollution, the island is also used to explore changes in the atmosphere and how it affects the climate.
The evacuation is the first time that atmospheric research has been suspended on the island for 45 years.
“It will take time and money to go back to normal, and this break will mean a rather lack of data collection for our research,” said Marc Delotte, LCES mission director on the Amsterdam Islands.
“This, of course, is not good news for such a unique place.”
On February 7, the scout mission sailed the French Navy ship.
According to the French Department of the South and Antarctic Territory, the mission consists of four firefighters from Reunion seven technical staff, one of whom is a doctor.
Instead of completely throwing out the fire, the mission intends to provide a settlement. It will also aim to discover the cause of the fire and how it spreads as well as restoring island energy and water network.
