Thawing permafrost may unleash industrial pollution across the Arctic

Climate change threatens to cause toxic substances from thousands of sites to flow free

A Siberian landscape marred by an oil spill

In May 2020, more than 20,000 metric tons of diesel fuel spilled from a destabilized tank facility in northern Siberia, contaminating an area roughly the size of Philadelphia. The spill was blamed partly on the loss of soil stability in thawed permafrost.

IRINA YARINSKAYA/AFP via Getty Images Plus

As the Arctic’s icebound ground warms, it may unleash toxic substances across the region.