Amsterdam Island – part of France's Southern and Antarctic Lands in the Indian Ocean – has seen more than half its territory hit by a wildfire that started in late January. Officials are yet to evaluate the damage to the island, which is a haven of biodiversity and home to one of the world's only sites for monitoring greenhouse gas emissions.
Located in the middle of the Indian Ocean, approximately 2,800 kilometres southeast of the French overseas territory of Reunion Island, Amsterdam Island is one of the most isolated places in the world.
With a surface area of 58 square kilometres, it is a haven for wildlife and home to the Martin-de-Vivies scientific station, a crucial site for monitoring greenhouse gas concentration worldwide.
The prefecture for France's French Southern and Antarctic Lands (TAAF) said a wildfire broke out on 15 January due to "dry weather, and strong, shifting winds, with many changes of direction".
Due to its remote location, "the fire is being allowed to burn, as there is no way to extinguish it at the moment," it added. There are no rivers on Amsterdam Island, meaning the only available freshwater is rainwater that has been collected and stored.
The 31 people – mainly military personnel and scientists – who were on the island when the fire broke out were all evacuated by boat to Reunion Island.
"The base has been affected. The buildings are still standing but water supply and telecommunications infrastructure is no longer operational," the prefecture said.
Unesco World Heritage site
Listed as a Unesco World Heritage site, Amsterdam Island is home to many seabirds, including the endemic Amsterdam albatross as well as 84 percent of the world's Indian Yellow-nosed albatross population, according to the French Polar Institute.
It is also home to colonies of elephant and fur seals, which breed on its shores at this time of year.
The island's vegetation is also unique due to the presence of the Phylica arborea shrub, the only tree-like structure present in the five districts of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands.
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Managed by France’s Laboratory for Climate and Environmental Sciences (LSCE), the site is ideally suited to measurements of air, gases and air pollution, providing an invaluable resource for studying climate change.
"The island's geographical location, its isolation and the low level of human activity mean that measurements can be taken in a particularly 'clean' environment," Marc Delmotte, the centre’s head, told France24.
Carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and ozone are recorded second by second at the station and then compiled with measurements from a network of 20 stations monitoring greenhouse gases.
The observatory is one of the world's only sites for direct measurement of atmospheric background pollution on a global scale, alongside a site located on Hawaii’s Mauna Loa volcano.
'Loss of data'
Delmotte said this is the first time readings have been interrupted since 1981, representing "a very unfortunate loss of data".
He said images show burnt vegetation around the monitoring site, but he was unable to ascertain whether the instruments had been damaged.
"This observatory is our oldest station. It is therefore the one for which we have the longest series of measurements in the entire southern hemisphere," he said.
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The French naval surveillance frigate Floreal was being dispatched to the island this week to examine the situation, with firefighters and other experts on board.
Delmotte is calling on the French state to mobilise on a large scale so that scientists will be able to resume their work "as soon as possible".
