Permafrost is melting and this is a big problem not just for the infrastructure that has been built over it in some areas, but for the climate in general. As the ice melts, it’s releasing a lot of carbon emissions with it as well as radically changing the landscape.

Permafrost is a layer of ice and dirt that exists deeper underground in some colder parts of the world. Even when the rest of the area thaws out, permafrost remains, well, frozen as the name suggests. With climate and the warming weather, permafrost has begun to melt.

This change has caused damage to roads and buildings as they resettle but it is also releasing all of the carbon that it has trapped for an eon and it turns out, it’s a lot of carbon. This release may cause climate predictions to come true faster.