Permafrost Thaw

Permafrost thaw will lead to considerable economic and social costs for Arctic communities as well as significant risks to the surrounding environment.

Nearly 5 million people live areas affected by permafrost, where various types of human infrastructure are built on this permafrost (including homes, buildings, transportation networks, mining projects, power transmission lines, and water retention structures). Permafrost thaw entails considerable costs related to adapting infrastructure to changing environmental conditions. The migration of communities who inhabit areas susceptible to permafrost thaw is also inevitable given the challenges they will face with the climate crisis, leading to considerable economic costs and additional risks to the environment.

Storylines

The final storylines will be selected based on their impact on certain environmental risks, such as permafrost thaw. In this section you will find how one of our Arctic storylines impacts permafrost thaw and what this means for the Arctic environment and communities.