Siberia and the Arctic: Permafrost and the Northern Sea Route

Siberia's climate is among the most extreme on Earth. In the Sakha Republic, villages such as Oymyakon and the town of Verkhoyansk have recorded temperatures below −67 °C, the coldest in the Northern Hemisphere. Permafrost, ground that stays frozen for at least two years, underlies much of Russia, so buildings are often raised on piles to stop their heat thawing the ground. As permafrost warms, roads, pipelines and buildings can buckle, and thawing soils release stored carbon.

Despite these conditions, resources draw people north: Norilsk, built around nickel and palladium mining, is one of the world's northernmost cities. The Arctic coast also offers a shipping route, the Northern Sea Route, which can shorten the voyage between East Asia and Europe compared with the Suez Canal. Shrinking summer sea ice has made the route more usable, though it still requires icebreakers for much of the year and raises environmental concerns.