The Arctic’s endemics — the polar bear, walrus, wild reindeer and other animals — have suffered greatly from climate change. They have lost their usual habitats where they could hunt and breed. The bears are starving and behave very aggressively, and the survival rate of their cubs has significantly decreased.
Another process associated with warming is the shifting of natural zones: the tundra has turned noticeably green. Already in 2006, during the expedition, we observed thickets of willow bushes that were about knee-high to us. The locals said that there had never been such plants in these places before.
The greening of the tundra is now being studied by many scientific organisations: satellite images show that both the area of green cover and its species composition have changed in the region.
Naturally, native animals are having a hard time adapting to the rapidly changing environmental conditions.
In addition, landscapes are changing in the Arctic. During the warm season, my colleagues observed shoreline collapse due to melting permafrost, which also affected buildings. For example, the weather wagons with equipment for meteorologists and observation stations were simply swept out to sea.
In summer, parts of the Arctic cease to be land and become water. As a result of active ice melting, cattle graves have begun to open up in places.
In particular, such situations have been noted in the Arctic zone, where the carcasses of anthrax-infected reindeer have been buried at different times in history. Many regional administrations do not even have preserved topographical maps showing the locations of such burials. It is also not possible to determine their extent and age.
The naturally uncovered cattle graves are responsible for the spread of dangerous infectious diseases. For example, medical reports have described cases of anthrax infection in people living in the Arctic zone near such sites. Animals are also susceptible to mass infection.
Cover photo: SeppFriedhuber / iStock
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