When you think of Siberia, the last thing you might think of is searing heat.
While the air temperature in the region was a comparatively mild 30C, the scorching summer there has global ramifications.
Because while the hot ground is an indication of climate change, it has the capacity to make the greenhouse effect far, far worse.
When it gets too warm, it has the potential to release vast quantities of climate change-causing methane into the atmosphere.
The thawing ground also has the capacity to destabilise buildings and cause landslides.
The sweltering heat also has the potential for more disastrous consequences.
Siberia is home to immense forests or taigas, prone to devastating wildfires.
Such fires have the potential to pump an enormous volume of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
The onset of summer suggests there’s little chance of Siberia cooling down any time soon.
