Vladimir Putin asked the head of Yamal, Artyukhov, about the melting of permafrost

The melting of permafrost is not the most pressing issue for the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug (Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District), but it still requires very serious attention and scientific observation. This was announced on October 28 by the governor of the region Dmitry Artyukhov during a meeting in the Kremlin with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Head of state began a conversation with Artyukhov, asking if permafrost is melting in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District and whether this creates problems for the district. The governor acknowledged that the indicators are really changing, and therefore it is necessary to control the values.

"It's probably not so acute that it's directly the main topic [in the Yamalo—Nenets Autonomous District], but it requires a very serious attitude, attention and serious scientific observation," the head of the region noted.

Artyukhov thanked the President for his special attitude to all the Arctic regions, and in particular to Yamal. He noted that thanks to the close attention of the state, significant results are visible. Yamal, for example, occupies a special position due to the key sector of the economy and the oil and gas complex, forming more than half of all macro indicators of the Arctic zone.

"And remarkable social results thanks to this — one of the most important achievements that we are proud of — reached the third place in terms of fertility in the country last year," the governor said.

Eternal warmth: tourists' interest in the northern regions has increased by one and a half times

These territories account for almost a quarter of Russians' summer trips.

In July, it was reported that researchers from the Bauman Moscow State Technical University had proposed new sets of equipment for active soil cooling. Such devices prevent the melting of permafrost and protect buildings and structures that stand on this foundation from destruction. As the scientists explained, the proposed approach is based on heat removal in the summer from under the earth's surface using pumps.

In February, the scientific director of the Hydrometeorological Center of Russia, Roman Vilfand, noted that in the Arctic in January the smallest area of ice was recorded due to the high air temperature. According to him, the previous lowest figure was recorded in January 2018. In addition, he added that a small area of ice is also observed in Antarctica, where it is below the average by 5%.

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