A Hong Kong academic said the arrival of the country's first home-made icebreaker - "Xuelong 2" or "Snow Dragon 2" - was a valuable opportunity for scientists to study an area that was often overlooked.

Benoit Thibodeau, from the School of Life Sciences at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, on Tuesday said the polar regions were less studied than other places because of the harsh environment.

"So being able to have our own ship and get our scientists to those extreme locations allows them to take completely unique data. So it's really important for a country to have its own research vessel to conduct its own research in those environments," Thibodeau told RTHK's Hong Kong Today programme.

He said the polar regions seemed to be reacting much faster to climate change.

"So they seem to be at the vanguard of the change we're experiencing. And they're sort of controlling or modulating our climate... the effect of climate change will be first seen in the polar region, and then by understanding how it works we hope that it gives us insight [into] how climate will change in the rest of the planet," Thibodeau said.

Xuelong 2 arrived in Tsim Sha Tsui on Monday for a five-day visit to Hong Kong. Members of the public can tour the vessel free of charge between Tuesday and Friday, with tickets available online.