Video from Ban Ki-moon’s visit to Svalbard

UN chief sees climate change first-hand

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon visited the Arctic on Sept. 1 to witness the effects of global warming ahead of key international climate talks in Copenhagen in December.

At Svalbard, Ban visited Ny-Ålesund, the quickly developing research village at the archipelago. He met with director of the Norwegian Polar Institute Jan Gunnar Winther and other research scientists, who explained how the glaciers are retreating due to climate change.

The research station is located 1,200 kilometres (745 miles) from the North Pole.