“Entire cities and roads were built on permafrost,” said Guido Grosse, head of the permafrost research unit at the Alfred Wegener Institute in Potsdam, Germany. “When permafrost thaws, the ice deep in the ground that has been there for thousands of years melts, and you lose stability. With temperatures rising at twice the global average rate in the Arctic Circle, the frozen ground is thawing and causing cracks in roads and buildings. The spill has been contained and some 200 tons of fuel have been collected, Emergencies Minister Yevgeny Zinichev said Friday. Grosse estimates that 1,700 gigatons of carbon dioxide is trapped in permafrost, or twice the amount currently in the atmosphere.

Source: Hindustan Times June 06, 2020 06:45 UTC