Thawing permafrost puts arctic cities at risk

The thawing of permafrost puts cities in the arctic circle at risk. Image source: Shutterstock (#200382314)

Buildings in arctic cities start to crumble because the permafrost is thawing caused by the climate change. In Norilsk, a Russian city with 177,000 inhabitants, nearly 60 percent of all buildings have been deformed. In most cases the wrecks can be patched up or prevented with the held engineering solutions. But when foundations are damaged it can be a severe risk for lives. The thawing permafrost is not only a problem for buildings. Oil and gas pipelines have also been damaged.

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