Cold weather strands global warming scientists!
NORTH POLE - March 18, 2009 - Three global warming researchers stranded in the North Pole by cold weather were holding out hope Wednesday as a fourth plane set off in an attempt deliver them supplies.
The flight took off during a break in bad weather after “brutal” conditions halted three previous attempts to reach the British explorers who said they were nearly out of food, the Agence France-Presse reported.
“We’re hungry, the cold is relentless, our sleeping bags are full of ice,” expedition leader Pen Hadow said in an e-mailed statement. “Waiting is almost the worst part of an expedition as we’re in the lap of the weather gods.”
Hadow, Martin Hartley and Ann Daniels began an 85-day hike to the North Pole on February 28 to measure sea ice thickness, the AFP reported.
With bad weather hampering supply flights, the team was down to half-rations, battling desperate sub-zero temperatures and unable to proceed, the AFP reported.
"It'll be a relief to get our new supplies," Hadow said in a statement Wednesday. "Until (the plane) does arrive, we need to conserve energy and can't really move on."
The expedition now expects to arrive at the North Pole in late May.
