King's Point (Canada) (AFP) — At dusk, tourists arc amazed at the breakdown of an iceberg at the end of its long journey from Greenland to Canada's cast coast, which now has a front row scat to the melting (触化) of the Arctic's ice.
While the rest of the world nervously eyes the effect of global warming, melting icebergs have breathed new life into the far coastal villages of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Once a center of cod (鳕鱼) fishing, the province now plays host to large groups of photographers and tourists hoping to sec the breathtaking ice melt. As winter ends, iceberg finding begins. The increase in tourism around here in the past 10 to 15 years has been unbelievable. Last year, a total of 500,000 tourists visited Newfoundland and Labrador, a number almost as large as the province's total population. Those visitors spent nearly $433 million, government numbers show. The tourism boom has helped solve the decrease in the regions traditional fishing industry, which is in crisis (危机) because of overfishing at the end of the last century.
But under the shiny surface of economic success is the dark truth that the area is in part profiting from global warming. The Arctic is warming three limes faster than the rest of the world. In mid-July, record temperatures were recorded near the North Pole. In recent years, the icebergs have traveled further and further south. For now, tourists arc enjoying the view and the experience while they can.
Laurent Lucazcau, a 34-year-old French tourist, said seeing an iceberg was upsetting. "It is a picture of global warming to see icebergs making it to these places where the water is warm," he told AFP. "There's something mysterious and impressive about it, but knowing too that they are not supposed to be here makes you wonder, and it's a little scary."
