Sun rises again on South Pole researcher (From thisisoxfordshire)

Sun rises again on South Pole researcher

7:45pm Monday 13th August 2012 in News

DOCTOR Alexander Kumar has been celebrating after seeing the sun for the first time in three months.

Dr Kumar, pictured, who works at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, is spending a year in Antarctica conducting medical research at the Concordia base at the South Pole.

The 29-year-old, a trainee anaesthetist, has been living in 24-hour darkness since May. He said: “It felt lovely. I stood alone in -70C basking in the first rays we have had in months, early on Sunday. It wasn’t a Caribbean breeze but it felt just as good.”

The sun only rises for a couple of hours a day at the moment in Antarctica but by December, the base will be basking in 24-hour sunlight.

Dr Kumar said: “It’s still winter. And we can expect even colder temperatures in the next month. It will be three more months until the first plane will arrive.

He added: “It will be a huge challenge to readjust to civilisation on our return – using money and standing in crowded places.”

Dr Kumar is due to return to Oxford after Christmas. To find out more about his research, see alexanderkumar.com