Renowned British environmentalist and explorer Lewis Gordon Pugh has successfully kayaked further north than anyone has ever previously kayaked, witnessing Arctic ice melt like never before.

Lewis said: "Last year at this latitude I saw three-meter thick ice. Now I can only see one-meter thick ice. In 2007 I predicted the Arctic would be largely free of summer sea ice within ten years. Everything I have seen on my expedition this year confirms that prediction."

He continued: "The disappearance of this sea ice is happening considerably faster than scientific models predicted a year ago. I am deeply concerned that policy makers are using the wrong information to inform their policy decisions. Unless world leaders appreciate the speed of change, any measures that they take will be wholly inadequate."

Lewis's expedition comes in a year when the Arctic sea ice is the thinnest and has the least volume on record. In addition, the US National Snow and Ice Data Center announced this week that, for the first time on record, the North West Passage in the Canadian Arctic and the North East Passage in the Russian Arctic have thawed.

Lewis said: "Polar bears depend on the sea ice. However, this story is not just about the destruction of another local habitat, and its affect on wildlife. Though the Arctic is thousands of miles away from most people, the loss of its sea ice will have profound consequences for everyone. I hope I have conveyed that by planting the flags of 192 nations of the world up here."

In 2007 Lewis swam one kilometer across an open patch of sea at the North Pole to raise awareness of the Arctic's fragile state. Lewis's journey this year started at the island of Spitsbergen in Northern Europe and continued for 135 kilometers through Arctic ice packs to 81 degrees north. He kayaked in freezing winds, horizontal snow showers, strong sea currents and with the constant threat of polar bears and walrus.

Thank you note from Lewis, sent today from Longyearbean:

“I would like to thank those critical members of the team who were not on the boat: Professor Tim Noakes, David Becker, Martin Jenkins, Daniel Terreblanche, Emily Lewis-Brown, Damien Forrest, Matt Carlson and his incredible team, Jorgen Amundsen, Olivier Muller [of Montres Villemont], Patsy Rodenburg, Nic Marshall and Antoinette Malherbe”.

For more information about Lewis Gordon Pugh and to access his and Sam Branson's daily blog on the expedition, click on the bear...

Press Release