Permafrost Thawing and the Resurgence of Viruses

Abstract

Global warming is very familiar to the world. There is a plethora of media, videos, and articles on its effects and how the world needs to take action to stop it. Most of the information found online, however, primarily talks about how climate change causes severe alterations in weather conditions. Yet there is another, widely ignored, underlying consequence of global warming: viruses and the permafrost. Although seemingly unrelated, permafrost thawing can set off the resurgence of viruses. 

Introduction

Permafrost is “any ground that remains completely frozen for at least two years straight” (What Is Permafrost?, n.d.). Permafrost thawing can release ancient viruses and bacteria, reintroduce long-lost diseases, and increase the spillover of these problems, demonstrating a new effect of global warming. Such critical impact can ruin the world to a point of no return, so people need to pay more attention to permafrost thawing. 

The Release of Ancient Viruses and Bacteria

The most important reason to bring attention to permafrost thawing is the re-introduction of ancient viruses and bacteria. The permafrost hosts a range of chemical compounds and microbes that span millennia, and it's “estimated that 2/3 of near-surface permafrost could be lost by 2100” (X, 2021). The problem with permafrost thawing is that deep permafrost is one of the few environments on Earth that has not been exposed to modern antibiotics, and more than 100 microorganisms in Serbia’s deep permafrost are antibiotic-resistant. Therefore, these ancient viruses and bacteria, when released, could be deadly to humans and create mayhem in the world. For instance, scientists discovered an infectious, new “giant virus” in a 30,000-year-old Siberian permafrost, which they named Pithovirus (The Deadly Diseases Being Released by Climate Change, 2020). Even though Pithovirus is not currently infectious to people, the more that permafrost melts, the greater the risk for viruses to be unearthed that may be infectious to humans.

Diseases Flaring Up

The main threat of the introduction of viruses through permafrost thawing is that diseases once solved, like anthrax, could be brought into today’s world. Anthrax was a disease that affected animals and humans, historically eliciting many outbreaks. The prevalence of Anthrax has decreased to there being little to no cases in the modern day. This is not something that could likely be easily recovered from if reintroduced.

Currently, there is evidence of an anthrax resurgence. In August 2016, a 12-year-old was killed after being infected by anthrax and 20 people were hospitalized (The Deadly Diseases Being Released by Climate Change, 2020). The uprise was prompted by a reindeer carcass, infected with anthrax, buried in thawing permafrost ice. Anthrax spores were released into the air, killing 2,300 reindeer. With evidence that harm could be caused to animals as well if other diseases once deadly to humans were revived, many casualties could occur. 

In laboratory settings, scientists were actually able to revive past deadly diseases from the permafrost. In 2004, from the permafrost, scientists were able to derive the 1918 Spanish flu from a fragment of a frozen corpse’s lung and DNA pieces of smallpox (Climate Change Is Releasing Ancient Organic Matter – Here’s What That Means, 2023). Knowing this, there is a definite possibility that these deadly diseases can rise again.

Infiltration

Even though fewer than 5 million people live in close proximity to the Arctic permafrost, global warming can open up new shipping routes and resource pools, accelerating tourism and trade in those areas. A nuanced level of human contact combined with the release of ancient pathogens could escalate the spread of these viruses. In addition, when animals near the thawing permafrost migrate northwards due to climate change, they could bring viruses and bacteria into contact with new hosts, increasing the risk of the virus spreading from one species to another. A definitive experiment revealed this peril: that is, the Arctic could become ground for the emergence of future pandemics due to permafrost-thawing-induced spillover. Using the largest freshwater lake north of the Arctic Circle, scientists used glacier runoff as a proxy for climate change. They found that, as glacier runoff increased in the lake samples, so did the prevalence of viral spillover. The melting glaciers gave large amounts of meltwater and sediment to the lake anually, which disrupted the lake ecosystem (Dewan, 2022). This disturbance caused the animal niches to intermingle, accelerating the evolution of viruses and the number of hosts with the spillover. 

Conclusion

Awareness of this underlying side effect of climate change is imperative to the promotion of human health. Permafrost is thawing, in turn leading to the resurfacing of diseases, viruses, and a higher infection rate that shouldn't be overlooked. Warming temperatures in the Arctic will cause a “30%-70% decline in permafrost by the end of the 21st century”, but nothing of these ancient viruses is known enough (Permafrost Is Melting at Unprecedented Rates Due to Global Warming, Causing Further Climate Changes. - Climate Change - ProCon.org, 2020). A proactive rather than reactive approach needs to be taken for future generations lest children who will be brought into this world inherits no knowledge of the potential danger that lies underneath the very ground they walk on. Reducing carbon footprint while encouraging climate-friendly policies, laws, and energy-efficient products are all ways to preserve the permafrost and avert the emergence of deadly viruses.

References

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Reporter, Pandora Dewan Science. “Ancient Viruses Trapped in Permafrost for Thousands of Years Are Waking Up.” Newsweek, 10 Nov. 2022, https://www.newsweek.com/newsweek-com-ancient-viruses-trapped-permafrost-thousands-years-wake-1758765.

“The Deadly Diseases Being Released by Climate Change.” World Economic Forum, 11 May 2017, https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/05/the-deadly-diseases-being-released-by-climate-change/.

“What Is Permafrost?” NASA Climate Kids, https://climatekids.nasa.gov/permafrost/.