The melting of permafrost, accompanied by the release of methane into the Earth's atmosphere, caused by global warming, threatens catastrophic consequences for the Russian Arctic, President of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) Alexander Sergeev said at the Arctic - Territory of Dialogue forum.
“This is a very significant question - how will methane emissions affect the climate. Have we not launched processes that are completely determined by nature, out of touch with our industry, and which can lead to very significant, and maybe even catastrophic consequences? - said the scientist.
The head of the RAS noted that "the factor of methane release is becoming more and more important, which, generally speaking, is in no way directly related to industrial activity." According to Sergeev, global warming is provoking erosion of the shelf shores and the melting of permafrost, accompanied by the release of methane.
In July 2017, it was reported that global warming would make Siberia's climate suitable for thermophilic crops, in particular fruits, watermelons, berries, corn and some grape varieties.
Over the past 200 years, human activities have resulted in over 600 billion tons of carbon emissions, according to open data. At the scale of the entire atmosphere, this led to an increase in the content of carbon dioxide in it by about 0.012 percent and provoked an increase in the average global air temperature by one degree Celsius (by 1.5 degrees - on the continents).