POLAR NEWS.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 242, 12 October 1929, Page 9

POLAR NEWS.

SUDDEN CHANGES. Fluctuations Of Temperature In Antarctic. "A LAND OP MIST. AND CLOUD." (United Service.) . (deceived 9.30 a.m.). NEW YORK, October 11. [By Mr. Kussell Owen. Copyrighted 102S by the "New York Times" Company and the "St. Louis Post Dispatch." All rights ■ for publication reserved throughout the world.. Wireless to the "New York Times"] BAY OF WHALES, October 10. For days we have been living in a land of mist and cloud where the outlines are vague and uncertain, and the white surface under foot cannot be seen. One may stumble over a lump' of snow or the edges of the sastrugi, or step suddenly down a decline. There artno shadows, only a diffused light, which reveals nothing in detail, although, dimly, one may see in the distance forms of ice pushed up in great uneven ridges or the nebulous line of the barrier cliff. The last two days have been warm, bringing in the moist air from-the sea and lifting the temperature higher than it has been in weeks. Yesterday afternoon it was four degrees below zero, and then the wind shifted to the south, and in a few minutes the whole canopy of cloud began to disappear, the thermometer dropped suddenly, and the air was filled with ice crystals which pattered against the face like rain.