Life is harsh in the frozen tundra of Harstad within the Arctic Circle, where Anna Prakhova resides. However, life can become much harsher when the snow no longer falls.
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The Arctic Circle (red line) |
In recent years, snow has not been falling as usual across vast areas of this desolate land, occasionally adorned with a few coniferous trees and shrubs. Prakhova, a leader representing indigenous people in Russia and Nordic countries, states: ”We are witnessing real climate change”.
Evidence of Climate Change
Many experts believe that human activities are driving global temperatures higher. This evidence is becoming increasingly clear, as evidenced by the shrinking ice sheets in the Arctic and the warming of the Indian Ocean. According to surveys by NASA and the National Snow and Ice Data Center, in September 2005, Arctic ice reached its lowest extent in 100 years. A survey conducted this year by U.S. scientists at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography indicates that the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans have been warming in recent decades.
Throughout the Harstad tundra, milder winters have allowed certain pests to thrive, such as beetles and harmful larvae. These organisms are destroying forests in the Arctic. In Northern Russia, frogs are often seen on this tundra, and some bird species are no longer migrating as they used to.
Prakhova is very concerned about what is happening. She notes that the reindeer that the Sami people (who live in Russia, Finland, Sweden, and Norway) traditionally herd are in danger due to the lack of snow in winter. ”Cold snow is harsh for humans but a soft winter bed for reindeer”, Prakhova explains. The absence of snow also makes it difficult for reindeer to graze on lichen, as this plant can become encased in hard ice. The ice can cut the sensitive noses of the reindeer.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is expected to issue stronger warnings in its 2007 report: greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, factories, and vehicles are disrupting the climate. The increasing voice of scientists is also putting pressure on governments that will gather for climate talks in Montreal, Canada, from November 28 to December 9. The aim is to encourage them to do more to tackle an issue that could cost trillions of dollars to fix in the coming decades. 10,000 delegates will convene in Montreal to discuss how to prevent climate change, especially after the Kyoto Protocol expired in 2002.
Who is to Blame?
Paal Prestrud, Director of the Center for International Climate and Environmental Research in Oslo (Norway), states: ”There is increasing evidence that humans are impacting the climate”. The IPCC also concluded in its final report in 2001: ”There is new, stronger evidence that human activities have caused most of the warming observed over the past 50 years”. Most studies since 2001 have weakened alternative theories, such as changes in solar activity, volcanic dust, or heat from cities being the main causes of temperature rise, rather than CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion.
Albert Klein Tank of the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute remarks: ”Based on new studies that have been published, we can say there is clearer evidence of human impact on the climate”. Albert is one of the scientists involved in drafting the IPCC report for 2007.
However, there is still uncertainty about the impacts of global warming. IPCC reports indicate that climate change could lead to more intense storms, increased heatwaves, droughts, and a rise in sea levels of nearly 1 meter by 2100. Other scientists argue that humans may be able to adapt to these changes and suggest that IPCC’s predictive models may be incorrect. For instance, they highlight a long-standing debate: whether atmospheric temperatures are rising more slowly than surface temperatures. Professor John Christy from the University of Alabama states: ”I do not see the catastrophic impacts of global warming that others predict. Perhaps as surface temperatures rise, the atmosphere may release heat into space in ways that climate models do not account for”.
Environmentalists argue that evidence of human-induced warming could lead to lawsuits against countries that are indifferent to the issue. They often criticize the United States and Australia, two wealthy nations that did not participate in the Kyoto Protocol—a treaty requiring countries to reduce fossil fuel use and transition to clean energy sources like wind and solar. President Bush withdrew from the treaty in 2001, arguing that Kyoto was too costly and excluded poorer nations from the initial cuts. He advocated for further research and strong investment in technologies like hydrogen.
While debates continue, time does not wait for Prakhova—one of the individuals living on the ‘frontline’ of climate change. A report from 250 experts at the end of 2004 indicated that the Arctic is warming at a rate twice that of the global average. This could drive polar bears to the brink of extinction and result in ice-free Arctic waters by the summer of 2100.
Minh Sơn (synthesized)
