Permafrost thaw threatens Russia's economy – intelligence
According to Ukrinform, the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine stated this on its website.
This is occurring in regions critically important to Russia's economy, where the main centers of oil, gas, and mineral extraction are located.
Overall, permafrost covers 65% of Russia's territory, and major cities lie within this zone: Vorkuta, Norilsk, Yakutsk, Magadan.
Russia's Arctic permafrost regions account for more than half of the entire Arctic territory; they generate 10% of Russia's GDP and 20% of its exports, and are responsible for producing 18% of its oil, 90% of its natural gas, 90% of its nickel and cobalt, 60% of its copper, and 100% of its diamonds.
The shortsightedness of Soviet and Russian engineers and builders — who designed infrastructure exclusively on the assumption that permafrost would remain permanently frozen — has led to annual seasonal destruction of structures. Almost all Arctic residential buildings (81%) were constructed between 1960 and 1999. More than 40% of buildings in the permafrost zone are already deformed: in Vorkuta — 80%, Magadan — 55%, Dikson — 35%, Tiksi — 22%, and Yakutsk and Norilsk — 9–10% each. At the same time, 1,260 km of major gas pipelines and thousands of kilometers of highways are in the danger zone.
By 2050, the population living in Russia's permafrost territories will decrease by 61% compared to 2017 and will amount to 1.7 million people.
As Ukrinform previously reported, Russia's economy is expected to lose trillions of rubles due to permafrost thawing and the increase in extreme natural events.
