Alert

Alert, in the Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada, is the northernmost permanently inhabited place in the world, at latitude 82°30'05" north, 817km from the North Pole. The entire population of Baffin, Unorganized, the Statistics Canada name for Qikiqtaaluk, is located here. As of the 2016 census the population was reported as 62, an increase of 1,140% over the 2011 census. It takes its name from HMS Alert, which wintered 10km east of the present station, off what is now Cape Sheridan, in 1875–1876.Alert has many temporary inhabitants as it hosts a military signals intelligence radio receiving facility at Canadian Forces Station Alert (CFS Alert), as well as a co-located Environment Canada weather station, a Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) atmosphere monitoring observatory, and the Alert Airport.HistoryAlert is named after HMS Alert, a British ship which wintered about 10km away in 1875–76. The ship's captain, George Nares, and his crew were the first recorded Europeans to reach the northern end of Ellesmere Island.