Does "a shock to the system" mean "a shock to the system of my body"?

Context:

You’re at a research station in Antarctica, yet via Skype l can see you’re wearing a T-shirt. I’ll bet it’s another story outside?

The lowest temperature was -81 °C. If you add in wind chill, it can drop below -100 °C. It’s pretty chilly. It was a shock to the system when I arrived.

Sounds like a long way from civilisation…

I’m at Concordia, a French-Italian base high on the ice plateau, about 1000 kilometres from the coast. It was built 10 years ago because it’s an ideal spot to drill for ice cores to examine past climate. Our closest neighbour is the Russian station Vostok, 600 kilometres away.

I’ve heard Concordia is sometimes called White Mars. Is that because it’s a bit like being cooped up on a long space flight?

Yes. The European Space Agency, who I ...

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