A four wavelength nephelometer was installed at South Pole station in January 1979 in order to measure the volumetric aerosol scattering coefficient during the austral winter of 1979. The monthly mean aerosol light scattering at 550 nm wavelength for May was 1.23¿10-7m-1, the lowest monthly mean value ever recorded at any GMCC station. This implies a total aerosol mass loading of 39 ng m -3, in agreement with aerosol mass measurements at South Pole station. Condensation nuclei concentrations in 1979 range between monthly means of 185 cm-3 in February and 10 cm-3 in July.