Thawing of the Permafrost: Countdown to a Climate Catastrophe, Part 2 of 2

In 2018, research on abrupt thawing that occurred under arctic lakes, known as thermokarst lakes, was led by Professor Katey Anthony. They discovered that the abrupt thawing of permafrost increased the release of ancient carbon stored in the soil by “125 to 190 percent compared to gradual thawing alone.” She warned that “by the middle to end of the century, the permafrost-carbon feedback should be about equivalent to the second strongest anthropogenic source of greenhouse gases, which is land use change.”

Geologist Dr. Patrick Abbot inspected the heatwave that occurred in the summer of 2020 in Siberia. “In some of these areas in Siberia, the gases are trapped beneath enough of that ice that you literally get an explosion just like a volcanic explosion. There [are] over 7,000 of them that have been identified in Siberia, and over 400 of them are looked at as being in imminent danger of eruption.”

Supreme Master Ching Hai has spoken many times to warn us about the dangers of methane gas and the melting of the permafrost. “Other research has also highlighted how quickly the temperature is rising in the Arctic, much faster than in the rest of the world. This means a vast quantity of methane could be released from the previously frozen soil very quickly, which would be a complete disaster for life on Earth.”

Another investigation concerning the rapid thawing of permafrost was conducted in 2021 as part of the ESA NASA Arctic Methane and Permafrost Challenge. The study found that deadly pathogens were hidden deep below the Arctic's permafrost, suggesting that these lethal viruses trapped deep below the Arctic's surface could be released as a result of the rapid melting of ice. Meat and dairy diets are driving climate change at a distressing speed.

Supreme Master Ching Hai has often spoken about stopping the consumption of animal-people products as the only real solution to halt climate change and save our precious planet. “One fact is clear: if we stop meat consumption and animal-people livestock raising, we will also eliminate one of the most heat-trapping gases, which is methane. This will also address problems like the melting permafrost, which will otherwise emit more methane if nothing is done to halt it.”