July 15 marks Arctic Sea Ice Day, which aims to draw worldwide attention to the meltdown taking place in the northernmost part of Earth. The sad truth is that the Arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the planet, and causing sea ice to melt. Not only does sea ice act as Earth's air conditioner that reflects sunlight and keeps the planet cool, but it's also vital for the survival of wildlife such as polar bears and beluga whales.
In honour of Arctic Sea Ice Day, non-profit organisation Polar Bears International (PBI) and explore.org are joining forces to launch the eighth season of the Beluga Whale Live Cam. Streamed around the clock, the live cam is broadcasted from the Churchill River where it meets Hudson Bay. Thousands of beluga whales migrate to the Churchill River during this period as a substantial amount of sea ice is lost during the summer. At the end of the first week of July this year, the scale of the Arctic sea ice had fallen to near a record low.
The Beluga Whale Live Cam offers us, land creatures, a whale's eye view of them swimming, eating, and nursing their calves. It's not just one POV as well – there are cameras above deck and underwater situated on the Beluga Boat which is guided by expert captains. Not only is the livestream calming (and a tad hypnotic), it gets exciting when the playful, 13 to 20-feet white whales swim towards the camera. Turn up the volume and you might even hear them 'sing'.
For further insight into beluga whales, viewers can tune into live chats that are happening in July and August via PBI's Facebook page, and participate in the Beluga Bits community science project. For the full schedule of programmes, check out polarbearsinternational.org. Otherwise, tune into the Beluga Whale Live Cam and be one with nature – virtually.