Permafrost

The Siberian Arctic experienced an unusual number of fires in 2019 and 2020. This raised concerns in the scientific community, as the Arctic has large areas of permafrost, a permanently frozen layer of subsoil that accumulates large amounts of carbon. Fires damage the permafrost and contribute to the release of carbon emissions in the form of greenhouse gases. The question that remained unanswered was whether this increase in fires in 2019-2020 was an exceptional case or a trend that will get worse as the Arctic warms.

The price of homes is falling sharply in some northern regions of the planet. Why? Because the seemingly permanently frozen ground they were built on is now thawing. This has much more far-reaching implications for the climate, and could even spell defeat in the battle against global warming.