Most of us cannot leave the office due to overflowing deadlines and multiple meetings, but for some Russian meteorologists, it's because of deadly polar bears waiting outside their office door. The five meteorologists that have reportedly been trapped for almost two weeks in their outpost in a remote Russian island.

Like Us on Facebook

This weather station is one of the Izvestiy TSIK Islands around the Arctic Circle, some 2,800 miles from Moscow, which is near northern Canada.

Polar bears thrive in this region where the terrain is covered in ice during winter. However, the local population of the bears doubled this year, to reach almost a dozen. The scientists have reportedly run out of flares that were used to scare off the animals, leaving them stranded indefinitely.

According to station supervisor Vasily Shevchenko, these bears live in the Arctic and cannot be prevented from hanging around. In the worst-case scenario, the station chief said he has a gun.

According to local Russian media, these bears appear to be hungry as they are currently sleeping outside the windows of this remote outpost. The meteorologists were reached via satellite phone.

The scientists said that they are not in any immediate danger. The nearest refuge the scientists can find is a weather bureau located in Arkhangelsk, which is about 1,200 miles south. It can take a week to travel there via a boat. The weather bureau is now planning to send a ship with supplies consisting of flares and devices that can scare away the bears.

In Russia, it is a crime to shoot polar bears unless it is for self-defense since the species is endangered. Polar bears have been affected by global warming as the rapidly melting ice sheets destroys their habitat, forcing them to hunt elsewhere for food.