Remember the Coldest Journey expedition? It was the much vaunted attempt to cross Antarctica on skies in the winter, when the continent becomes one of the most inhospitable environments on the planet. When the expedition got underway this past March, it was with the anticipation that the team of explorers made up of Brits Brian Newham, Ian Prickett, Richmond Dykes, Rob Lambert and Spencer Smirl would traverse the Antarctic by way of the South Pole, covering some 4000 km (2485 miles) along the way. By June, that goal had become a distant memory however, as bad weather, incredibly difficult surface conditions and dangerous crevasses prevented the men from making the steady progress they had hoped. As a result, they put a halt to their journey and elected to set up camp and wait for a plane to come pick them up once spring had arrived. Two months later, they're still waiting for that plane, although they have had their first glimpse of things starting to turn in their favor.

For the past two months the team has essentially been camped in the same spot while they've waited for the winter to pass. During that time they have continued to focus on the scientific aspects of the expedition which consist of taking various weather readings to measure the impact of climate change on the environment in the Antarctic. While they haven't been able to make any progress forward or back, they are still going about the business of collecting data for ongoing research.

There was a glimmer of hope on the horizon this past week however as the sun has shown itself for the first time in weeks. During the Antarctic winter the days get increasingly shorter until the sun dips below the horizon altogether and the continent is shrouded in darkness. But that long night has come to an end at last and the sun has begun appearing above the horizon for the first time in quite awhile. The days may not be all that long just yet, but it is a start. And for this embattled crew, it is also the first sign that spring is approaching. That could mean that there is a light at the end of the tunnel for these five men who have been in Antarctica for a really long time.

We're still probably a couple of months away from any kind of evacuation taking place but the return of the sun is a good sign for these men. After weeks in nearly complete darkness, they'll now have some daylight to help bolster their spirits and mood. I'm sure at the moment they feel a bit like the expedition that the world has forgotten about, but optimism comes with the sun.

Hand in there boys! Spring will be here before you know it.

Even though the Himalaya climbing season is all but over, I have lots of Everest-centric news to share today, starting with a new project that features legendary documentary filmmaker and explorer David Breashears and tech-giant Microsoft joining forces. Today, they have launched Everest: Rivers of Ice, an interactive website that lets armchair mountaineers explore the world's tallest peak without ever leaving home.

The project combines some of the high-resolution imagery that Breashears took as part of his Glacierworks project with the touch-technology behind Windows 8 and Internet Explorer 10, to create an experience unlike any other. Visitors to the site will be able to take a virtual trek up the Khumbu Valley, visiting many well known places along the way like Lukla, Namche Bazaar and Gorak Shep, before arriving in Everest Base Camp itself. Beautiful panoramic shots capture the region nicely, as does a spectacular video fly-by of Everest itself.

The Everest: Rivers of Ice website is created with HTML5, which means it should work on any browser that supports that standard. But to get the true effect in all its glory, you'll definitely want to check it out on Win 8 and with IE 10. Not only will it give you a sense of the scale of the mountain itself, it'll also show you what it is like to trek through the Himalaya just to get there.

I've written about Glacierworks before and feel that it is an important project for raising awareness of the impact of global climate change on the glaciers in the Himalaya. Breashears has taken photos of the Khumbu Valley from today and compared them to images taken the same spot in the past and the differences are alarming. The glaciers are in full retreat, taking a vital source of water for the people of the Himalaya with them. This is becoming a serious issue and projects like this one are helping us to understand the implications. Be sure to check out Everest: Rivers of Ice for more about the changes in the region and to take in the beauty of the mountains yourself.

Halley VI, a new British Antarctic research station officially opened for business this week, welcoming the first inhabitants for an extended stay. The station, which is located along the Brunt Ice Shelf, just off the Weddell Sea, is designed to monitor the changing conditions and climate in the region. It will be the home for 16 scientists who will reside there throughout the long winter ahead. During the busier summer months, it can house as many as 70.

Built from a set of modular structures that can be easily moved, the Halley VI was designed to be comfortable even in the extreme conditions of the Antarctic. It is rated to withstand temperatures as low as -69ºF/-56ºC and a built-in set of hydraulic legs that can be raised or lowered to help the base withstand heavy snows. Previous research facilities have been crushed under the weight of Antarctic precipitation in the past.

The Halley VI has another trick up its sleeve that can help it survive where its predecessors failed as well. All seven of the interlocked modules can be placed on skis and moved to a different location, which will come in handy when the pack ice that it currently rests on begins to recede further. Considering the Brunt Ice Shelf moves about 700 meters in a given year, and doesn't rest over any kind of permanent ground, the mobility of the station could extend the life of the station greatly.

It has taken four years for the British Antarctic Survey team to complete the construction of the base and for now it will be manned by just a skeleton crew. As the Antarctic winter hits in just a few short weeks, those first inhabitants of the Halley VI will be cut off until the spring. At that time, the station will be resupplied and a full compliment of staff and maintenance crew will arrive on site. Until then, its going to be some very long and lonely days indeed.

Anyone who's been following this blog has probably noticed that I'm a big fan of Thailand. I gave up counting how many times I've been there after a dozen. Whenever we go to Asia, we always try to spend some time in Bangkok on the way there or on the way back, like we just did on our trip to Nepal a couple months ago. The people, the food, the varied cultural offerings make Thailand one of the world's-- if not the world's-- best tourist destinations. So I'm sure I wasn't the only person alarmed at the headline in today's Guardian proclaiming the risk of Bangkok sinking into the sea. No doubt Pat Robertson or Michele Bachmann will soon by croaking that it's God's punishment for a pervasive climate of tolerance there-- though no one seems to be addressing God's decision to burn down Texas, despite big-tent prayer events led by the state shaman, Rick Perry. But no matter the craziness of American right-wing politics, the gloomiest assessments are that parts of Bangkok will be underwater by 2030.

Driving into town from the new airport, I'm always struck by the number of new highrises that are always going up in Bangkok-- all those huge cranes... more than I've ever seen in an American city. It's almost like China! But then there are parts of Thornburi on the other side of the river, way up beyond where the tourist hotels are, where life is entirely on the water. We love spending days in longtail boats cruising the canals and getting into the slow pace of life in these parts of the city-- even though it feels like you're in the countryside. Regardless of delusional Republican Party ideology and their bizarre self-destructive dogma, Thai's know why their capital city is sinking.

Several factors – climate change, rising sea level, coastal erosion, shifting clay soil-- are threatening the great city on the Chao Phraya delta, founded in April 1782 by the first monarch belonging to the Chakri dynasty, still ruling today.

The population has greatly increased, with about 10 million people now living in the city and its suburbs. Even the weight of the skyscrapers, constantly on the rise in a conurbation in the throes of perpetual change, is contributing to Bangkok's gradual immersion. Much of the metropolis is now below sea level and the ground is subsiding by 1.5 to 5cm a year.

In the medium to long term more than 1m buildings, 90% of which are residential, are under threat from the rising sea level. In due course the ground floors of buildings could be awash with 10cm of water for part of the year, according to the Asian Institute of Technology.

In the port of Samunt Prakan, about 15 km downstream from the capital, the residents of detached houses along the river already spend several months a year up to their ankles in water.

A joint report published in December by the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and Japan's International Co-operation Agency highlighted the threat from climate change to three Asian mega-cities: Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, and Manila.

Illegal tapping of groundwater is one of the causes of the capital's misfortunes, according to Jan Bojo, a World Bank expert based there. Not all the specialists endorse this view, but they do agree the situation is bound to deteriorate over the next few years. Smith Dharmasaroja, the head of the National Disaster Warning Centre, is predicting that by 2100 Bangkok will have become a new Atlantis. However gloomy this may seem, Dharmasaroja's forecasts are taken seriously. In the 1990s he predicted the fearful tsunami which devastated countries round the Indian Ocean in 2004.

Dharmasaroja maintains that "no decision has been taken" at government level "to stop the problem." And, he adds, if nothing is done Bangkok could be underwater by 2030.

One of the solutions he has suggested is to build a series of dykes along the coast of the Gulf of Thailand, a scheme which would cost well over $2bn. He says work should start immediately, otherwise it will be too late to halt the chain of events leading to disaster.

Anond Snidvongs, an oceanographer and specialist on climate-change impacts in southeast Asia, takes a more cautious line. "No one can predict how long it will take for Bangkok to be flooded and how this process will unfold," he says. He sees no point in building huge dykes. "The rise in sea level is not that great and climate change only plays a fairly small part-- about one-fifth-- in the current scenario," he adds.

"It's pointless," he stresses, "to try to protect the coastline which is being eroded by three to four centimetres a year. But there are plenty of other ways of combating flooding, such as better management of building land in the city."