Thawing soils threaten millions of people

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• The thawing of the permafrost in the Arctic is threatening the infrastructure and supplies of up to three million people.
• Harmful substances are being released, exacerbating health and environmental problems.
• A study carried out by researchers in collaboration with those affected over several years documents erosion, landslides and changes in lifestyle that are already taking place, particularly for indigenous communities.
• Despite the challenges, many of those affected trust in their ability to adapt and emphasize their long-term resilience.

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The study team of researchers from Austria, Denmark and Sweden also identified a potential deterioration in water and food supplies as well as an increased risk of pollutants and infectious diseases. This is because the thawing of the subsurface, which is linked to climate change, releases harmful substances from old oil and gas pits, among other things.

For the study, the researchers have for the first time investigated the greatest risks associated with these environmental changes over several years together with those affected in various areas of the Arctic in Europe, America and Asia. They present the study in the journal "Communications Earth and Environment".

Not just dreams of the future

These are not future dangers, but developments that are already underway, said lead author Susanna Gartler, an anthropologist researching at the University of Vienna. The thawing of the subsurface is leading to landslides and increased erosion in coastal areas, among other things.

The experts looked at communities on Greenland and on the Norwegian archipelago of Spitsbergen, as well as in the Russian Republic of Sakha and in Canadian areas on Lake Beaufort and at the mouth of the Mackenzie River. Indigenous people live in most of these settlements.

People rely on their own adaptability

When hunting and fishing huts slide into the water, for example, this has an impact on the indigenous people's ability to obtain food and their traditional way of life, said Gartler.

Settlements with residential buildings are also affected, such as Nuugaatsiaq on Greenland. A landslide triggered a tsunami there in 2017, which caused devastating damage. Nevertheless, many people in the areas surveyed expressed confidence that they would be able to continue living there, the researcher said. "It is emphasized over and over again that Inuit and indigenous people have adapted to changing conditions for thousands of years," she said.