Arctic survival, starting in hell at minus fifty degrees Celsius

As the months go by, the daylight hours only get longer, reaching their peak in July and August, when the sun may not set for 24 hours, a phenomenon known as polar day.

In September, things will suddenly change, and the nights will become very long.

In January, it is even dark all day long, which is the polar night.

Both the polar day and the polar night are terrifying.

Although temperatures rise significantly during the polar day, the Arctic is covered in snow, a vast expanse of white, and the ultraviolet radiation in the sky is exceptionally strong. Under 24-hour sunlight, the entire Arctic is enveloped in intense ultraviolet radiation.

Humans are very susceptible to snow blindness.

In extreme environments like the Arctic, snow blindness can worsen if left untreated, eventually leading to blindness.

During the polar night, terrifyingly low temperatures will prevail.

At its coldest, temperatures can even reach terrifying lows of minus sixty degrees Celsius.

Historical records even show extreme cases where temperatures reached minus seventy degrees Celsius.

In weather like this, no one can survive outdoors.

Both polar day and polar night have a huge impact on humans, so before such extreme weather arrives, they should store as much food as possible and stay indoors as much as possible.

The five people sat by the fire, taking turns to sleep.

Sun Chengwu didn't trust Richard, nor did he trust Dahei and Erhei, so he and Lin Can had to always keep one of them awake.

After three days of walking and stopping, the three of them arrived at the glacier area where they had first entered the forest.

Because of the snowfall, the snow is thicker and deeper, making the roads here even more dangerous.

Lin Can had to forcefully thrust his spear down each time, repeatedly poking around the area several times before finally landing.

After their first fall, they were all extra careful.

Of course, this also significantly slowed them down; it took them two full days to get through this glacial area.

On the glacier, there were no dried vegetables to start a fire. Sun Chengwu only brought some cloths soaked in fuel. They collected some dry firewood along the way, which provided some warmth at night.

Fortunately, there was a deerskin covering them, which helped maintain a certain body temperature.

But Sun Chengwu was still woken up three times by the cold while sleeping.

His biggest fear is catching a cold, but perhaps because he has been here for more than a month, he has adapted to the environment and only has a slight runny nose, without a fever.

But Richard is in a bit of a predicament.

He had walked all the way here without much rest, and then rushed back.

Just as he stepped off the glacier, he lost his footing and slid down the mountain.

The crowd quickly gave chase, and when they found him, he was already lying on the ground unconscious.

Sun Chengwu placed his hand on his forehead; it was very hot, like a boiled egg.

He just missed a step, not because of a mistake, but because he was unconscious from the beginning, which is why he fell.

Sun Chengwu found some snow and vigorously rubbed it on his face.

After a while, Richard slowly woke up.

His face was flushed, and the man who was strong just a second ago suddenly looked as weak as a sickly person.

Sun Chengwu asked, "Can we still walk?"

Richard struggled to his feet, staggered forward two steps, and said with difficulty, "Yes."

The group continued walking forward, but their pace slowed down once again.

Upon reaching the seaside, they found it covered in snow. This was the place where they had first parted ways, and it was here that Li Mu and his people had stopped and settled.

Now there is no trace of any plants here. If you dig through the snow, you can see some leaves frozen into ice crystals. If you apply a little force, the leaves will crumble into pieces.

This food is no longer edible.

Lichens also need temperature to grow. Because this place is close to the sea, the sea breeze blowing from the Pacific Ocean is relatively warmer, and there are some exposed rocks on the shore.

However, due to the recent heavy snow and temperature drop, even the sea has frozen over, and the shoreline is naturally not spared either, with all the plants freezing to death.

Their roots are buried deep beneath the frozen soil, waiting for the temperature to rise before they strive to grow again.

In the Arctic, you can witness a magical phenomenon: when the snow melts, it instantly turns green, only to wither away overnight.

They must seize every opportunity to flower and pollinate in order to prolong their lives.

Richard checked the direction and pointed west, saying, "This way."

He was panting heavily, and it seemed that his body was about to give out.

Sun Chengwu reminded them, "We've walked for too long, let's stop and rest for a while."

Big Black asked, "Didn't we just lose two...?"

Sun Chengwu glared at him.

Big Black immediately shut up.

Richard sat down and became drowsy, but he still forced himself to stay awake.

Sun Chengwu said, "Go to sleep, I'll wake you up in a bit."

Richard then lay down on the ground and fell asleep.

Sun Chengwu grabbed some snow, put it in an iron can, dug through the snow to find some dry grass, lit it, and barely managed to heat up a can of water.

The four of them took turns drinking a sip, and Sun Chengwu woke up Richard and told him to drink some too.

Richard's forehead was burning hot, his body temperature was rising, and he was becoming somewhat delirious.

After drinking water, Richard's condition improved somewhat, but only slightly.

Sun Chengwu could only boil more water.

When a person has a fever, drinking a lot of water is not because drinking water has any benefits, but because water can carry away the body's heat.

Both sweating and urination can help lower body temperature.

Hot water is used because there's a concern that the body's temperature might drop too quickly, leading to a weakened immune system and inflammation.

After all, body temperature is the most basic environment for maintaining the body's immunity.

For every degree Celsius drop in body temperature, cell activity decreases by 30%, and the phagocytic capacity of NK cells and macrophages also decreases by about 10%.

If the human body is in a state of hypothermia for a long period of time, its ability to resist cancer cells will be halved.

This is why a person can catch a cold if they are suddenly exposed to cold.

However, it is much harder for the human body to lower its temperature than to raise it.

When bacteria that white blood cells cannot kill appear in the human body, the immune regulatory system will rapidly raise the body temperature, increase cell activity, and launch a suicide attack to help us fight the virus.

Therefore, having a fever is not a bad thing; only excessively high body temperatures pose a risk.

After all, our brains can only withstand temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius.

Internal organs can also fail due to the suicidal attack of their own immune cells.

Sun Chengwu only helped Richard control his body temperature slightly. Now that there is no medicine, whether he can pull through depends on his own immune system.

Therefore, methods for quickly reducing fever should not be used.

After resting for more than two hours and boiling a lot of water, Richard's body temperature finally dropped, and he was able to open his eyes again. His condition had improved significantly.

After Sun Chengwu asked him a few questions, which he answered fluently, Sun Chengwu stood up, patted the snow off his clothes, and said, "It's about time. Let's continue on our way."