I was listening to a podcast in which the interviewee was a lady with roots in Arctic region, now living in Germany and working for a sustainable planet. The theme of conversation was her description of life in the region and concern for increasing temperatures, decreasing ice, and looming fear of ice-free Arctic summers. As like many others, my idea of Arctic was just polar bears and ice but it is beyond that and unfortunately, climate change has immensely disturbed this pristine beauty.
This Northernmost point of earth is around 1.5 times as big as US, covering the parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, Iceland, Finland, United States, Sweden, and Norway; it is home to around 4 million people ( as per Arctic Human Resource Development Report). This magical land is a dream tourist destination for some; a land with bountiful natural resources for others while some others are worried about the declining ice reserves and melting glaciers of the region. Arctic may be largest intact ecosystem and aloof from rest of world but not untouched by outcomes of the global growth and development.
Ecosystem and biodiversity in Arctic
Continental shelf of Arctic ocean is widest of all the oceans and harbours least disturbed marine ecosystem. The region has boreal forests – the largest natural forests of the world which covers around 17% of the global land. The United States Geological Survey found that Arctic holds 30% of the world’s undiscovered natural gas. Glaciers and icebergs of the region accounts for 20% of the world’s fresh water resources. Polar bear, Walrus, Narwhal, Snowy owl, and Arctic fox are some of endemic species of Arctic. It is home to around 21,000 lesser known highly cold adapted mammals, fungi, microbes, fungi, fish, birds, and invertebrates. Wild food is an integral part of indigenous peoples’ diet but one must know to distinguish between edible and poisonous food.
How people live in Arctic?
The region is home to 40 ethnic groups (such as Inuit, Saami, Nenets, Khanty, Evenk, Chukchi) who had inhabited the place thousands of years ago and have 10% share in current population. 1950s and 1960s witnessed surge in Arctic population owing to improved health services and immigrants’ influx due to discovery of natural resources in the region. Some decades back, temperature used to dip as low as -400 C in winters and not crossing 10 C in summers but now, ice free Arctic Summers may happen in less than two decades. The growing period (summers) usually lasts for 3-4 months. People grow food in greenhouses and collect forest harvest. There are speculations that temperature rise will make it easy to grow food in the region. Why we humans always think about our immediate benefit but end up with long-term loss? Only food will not save humanity; we need to preserve every element of this planet that has a vital role in balancing the whole planet and Arctic is one of that vital element.
Why Arctic is important for rest of the planet?
Greenland ice cover in the region is one of the earth’s tipping points. (the point from where recovery is almost impossible and reaching these points puts the existence of present and future generations in danger). Everybody knows that melting glaciers will cause sea level rise but sea and land ice cover also has high albedo which reflects the incoming solar radiations and stabilises the temperature of oceans around. Dark ocean surface if exposed upon melting will absorb the solar radiation and cause permafrost regions to thaw. Permafrost region is the earth’s largest terrestrial carbon sink and traps twice the carbon as compared to what is present in the atmosphere. Thawing will cause the decay of organic matter and release of carbon-dioxide and methane. We are saying that global warming is triggering the melting of glaciers but the truth is that melting of glaciers will reinforce the global warming.
What has changed in Arctic Since 1971?
Arctic Council released a report under the name Arctic Climate Change Update 2021: Keys Trends and Impacts which recorded the changes in the region from 1971-2019. In this report, 1971 was chosen as the reference year because it is the oldest date for most reliable records of temperature and other indicators of Arctic. Near-surface air temperature has increased by 3.10 C – three times faster than the global average. The annual precipitation rain and snow combined) increased by more than 9% ; highest in colder months (October to May). Permafrost region has warmed by 2 – 30 C ; last two decades witnessed more permafrost thaw with seasonally thawed active layer penetrating more deep. Both sea ice and land ice has declined and ice-free summers will become reality as early as 2040. (IPCC sixth assessment report)
How the region is affected?
Frozen sea facilitates the transportation in region but decreasing ice cover is affecting the connectivity in the region. During covid, people faced inconvenience to reach the hospitals on time as some of the frozen routes disappeared due to melting of sea ice. The duration of dogsled on sea ice has already decreased from 5 months to 3 months. Polar bears are vulnerable to extinction as they depend on sea ice for survival and study suggested extinction could happen by end of this century if warming continues. Apart from polar bears, several other species are facing the risk of habitat loss. Many pathogens are lying dormant in the glacial ice; thawing and melting could unleash the outbreak of deadly diseases. It happened in 2016, when melting of ice exposed reindeer carcass and caused the anthrax spread in Siberia.
Extraction of natural resources in the region
Mankind is extracting the fossil fuels for centuries and fear of running out of these energy sources has diverted attention towards harnessing the unexplored potential of Arctic region. Currently, the major extraction is happening in Beaufort sea and North Western Russian Arctic. There are plans to extract more as the region is also home to many rare minerals but this is unsustainable, what we are going to do with fossil fuels and minerals by putting our existence at risk? May the policymakers and decision making bodies around the world prioritise the health of planet while making decisions and taking actions so that following lines said by Albert Schweitzer may never prove right.
“Man has lost the capacity to foresee and forestall. He will end by destroying the earth”
