Environmentalist Lewis Gordon Pugh made history by kayaking further north than anyone has ever previously kayaked, witnessing Arctic ice melt like never before. Pugh attempted kayaking 1200 kilometers through the icy seas to the North Pole.

Pugh, who is passionate about climate change, says he hopes his experience will change the way people view climate change. "Last year at this latitude I saw three-metre thick ice. In 2007 I predicted the arctic will be largely free of summer sea ice within ten years. Everything I have seen on my prediction this year confirms my prediction."

Pugh believes that the world leaders are not doing enough because the change is occurring faster than it was ever predicted.

"I am deeply concerned that the policy makers are using the wrong information to inform the policy decisions. Unless world leaders appreciate the speed of change, any measures that they take will be wholly inadequate."

This year saw the Arctic with the thinnest sea ice and the lowest volume on record. The US National Snow and Ice Data Centre have announced that for the first time on record, the North West Passage in the Canadian Arctic and the North East Passage in the Russian Arctic have melted.

Polar bears are endangered by this situation because their existence depends on ice. "This story is not just about the destruction of another local habit, and its effect on wild life. Though the Arctic is thousand of miles away from most people, the loss of sea ice will have profound consequences for everyone."

He went on to say he hopes to have sent the message by planting the flags 192 of nations up there.

Back in 2007, Pugh swam a kilometre across an open patch of sea in the North Pole to raise awareness of the Arctic's fragile state. He embarked on another journey this year which started at the island of Spitsbergen in northern Europe and continued 135 kilometres through Arctic ice packs to 81 degrees north. He faced freezing winds, strong sea currents, horizontal snow showers and a constant threat of polar bears and walrus.