Tatiana Kanunnikova
In November, a student-led project made a disturbing discovery: Mesyatsev Island, a floating slab of ice previously observed in the Arctic, had almost disappeared. It took around a decade and a half for the 11.8-million-square-foot island to shrink by 99.7% and vanish from the Arctic’s map.
Indeed, the Arctic is changing fast, impacting ecosystems and economies all over the world. Over the last 50 years, the polar region has been warming up four times faster than other parts of the globe, a phenomenon known as Arctic amplification. Temperatures have risen considerably; in 2023, the region experienced its warmest summer.
“A melting Arctic presents new challenges and exacerbates existing ones for Arctic states and communities,” said Samuel Jardine, head of research at London Politica. “Degrading permafrost has already seen infrastructure damage as foundations collapse and pipelines deform.”
“It is estimated that 34% of the population in the Arctic’s permafrost regions will be at risk by the end of 2100, with it costing between US$205-$572 billion depending on who you ask to just maintain the operation of engineering and service infrastructure in the 2080s,” Jardine said.
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