Introduction – Antarctica Day is celebrated annually on December 1 to honor the anniversary of the signing of the Antarctic Treaty in the year 1959. This treaty or agreement was signed by 12 countries to protect and preserve the environment of Antarctica. This global agreement was signed in the year 1959 and came into effect in the year 1960 that making a significant milestone or landmark in the protection and conservation or preservation of Antarctica.

History – FFGI (Foundation for the Good Governance of International Spaces) is an organization that is concentrated on science, environmental peace, and promoting peace. Antarctica Day was first proposed by FFGI to highlight the global collaboration, which makes the governance of Antarctica possible. Antarctica Day was created by the Antarctica Treaty Summit in the year 2009 on the 50th anniversary of the Antarctica Treaty.

Significance – Antarctica is a delicate and important ecosystem that helps in balancing the climate of Earth. It is the coldest and 5^th largest continent that contains 90 percent of all the ice on the Earth. Antarctica is one of the driest, coldest, and windiest continents that contains a variety of animals such as seals, penguins, whales, and many more. Around 70 percent of the world’s freshwater that are reserved as ice in Antarctica. Antarctica is covered by ice about 99 percent with a size of 5.5 million square miles.

Antarctica is divided into two regions namely West Antarctica in the Western Hemisphere and the East Antarctica in the Eastern Hemisphere and these two parts of this continent are separated by the Transantarctic Mountains. West Antarctica is mainly an ice sheet, which covers an archipelago of mountains and islands while East Antarctica is mostly composed of a high ice-covered plateau. This continent contains around 7 million cubic miles of ice sheets that represent around 90 percent of ice and 70 percent of freshwater worldwide.