Ushuaia, Earth's Southernmost City, Faces Climate Change And Other Environmental Issues

USHUAIA, ARGENTINA - NOVEMBER 07: A resident walks to check on hoses carrying runoff water from the receding Martial Glacier to residents of an informal mountainside community, who depend on the water, on November 7, 2017 in Ushuaia, Argentina. Many Ushuaians have constructed homes in informal settlements due to a population boom and lack of affordable housing available. Ushuaia is situated along the southern edge of Tierra del Fuego, in the Patagonia region, and is commonly known as the 'southernmost city in the world'. The city's main fresh water supply comes from the retreating Martial Glacier, which may be at risk of disappearing. In a 2015 report, warming temperatures led to the loss of 20 percent of the mass and surface of glaciers in Argentina over the previous 50 years, according to Argentina's Institute of Nivology, Glaciology and Environmental Sciences (IANIGLIA). Ushuaia and surrounding Tierra del Fuego face other environmental challenges including a population boom leading to housing challenges following an incentivized program attracting workers from around Argentina. Population in the region increased 11-fold between 1970 and 2015 to around 150,000. An influx of cruise ship tourists and crew, many on their way to Antarctica, has also led to increased waste and pollution in the area sometimes referred to as 'the end of the world'. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)