Permafrost contains microbes, mammoths, and twice as much carbon as Earth’s atmosphere. What happens when it starts to melt?
The driest summer in 150 years has turned Yakutia into a tinderbox and seen wildfires tear through the region.
Usually one of the most full flowing in Russia, the river tends to drop the level twice a year - but not by a catastrophic 2-2.5 meters as this year.
Fires have wreaked havoc this summer with Yakutia and the Yamalo-Nenets autonomous the latest to be hard hit.