The Arctic is warming approximately four times faster than the global average.
This is not a future threat. This is happening now.
And Yukon and Alaska are experiencing it firsthand.
What's Happening:
Permafrost Thaw:
- Ground that has been frozen for thousands of years is melting
- Buildings, roads, airports are destabilizing
- Infrastructure repair costs escalating
- Some communities face relocation
Temperature Changes:
- Average temperatures in some areas up 3-5°C since 1970s
- Winter warming especially dramatic
- Ice roads less reliable, shorter seasons
- Heating costs down, but new problems emerging
Wildfire:
- Fire seasons longer and more intense
- 2019: Alaska had 2.5 million acres burned
- 2022: Yukon had significant fire season
- Smoke affects air quality across the North
- Communities face evacuation, property loss
Ecosystem Shifts:
- Treeline moving north
- New species appearing
- Traditional food sources shifting
- Migration patterns changing
Infrastructure Crisis:
Much northern infrastructure was built assuming permanent permafrost.
That assumption is failing.
- Fairbanks: Buildings sinking, foundations failing
- Dawson City: Historic buildings threatened
- Runways: Cracking, heaving
- The Alaska Highway: Sections increasingly unstable
Repair costs are enormous. Relocation costs even more.
A unified territory could coordinate:
- Infrastructure assessment
- Priority repairs
- Climate-resilient construction standards
- Community relocation planning (where necessary)
The Carbon Bomb:
Permafrost contains enormous amounts of carbon — dead plants that never decomposed because they were frozen.
As permafrost thaws, that carbon releases as CO₂ and methane.
This could accelerate global warming far beyond current projections. It's a feedback loop that, once triggered, we can't stop.
Yukon and Alaska are sitting on one of the planet's most significant climate tipping points.
What We Can Do:
- Adaptation — Build infrastructure that can handle change
- Monitoring — Track permafrost, fire, ecosystem shifts
- Indigenous knowledge — Traditional knowledge holders have observed changes for decades
- Global advocacy — We're living proof of climate change; our voices should be heard
- Local emissions reduction — Lead by example, even if we're small
Discussion Questions:
- How do we prioritize infrastructure repair/relocation with limited resources?
- Should northern territories receive special climate adaptation funding?
- How do we incorporate Indigenous knowledge into climate monitoring?
- What responsibility do we have to communicate the climate reality we're experiencing?
- Is there any way to slow permafrost thaw, or only adapt to it?