World's biggest permafrost crater in Russia’s Far East thaws as planet warms


  • World
  • Saturday, 22 Jul 2023

A view of the Batagaika crater, as permafrost thaws causing a megaslump in the eroding landscape, in Russia's Sakha Republic in this still image from video taken July 11 or 12, 2023. Reuters TV via REUTERS

BATAGAI, Russia (Reuters) - Stunning drone footage has revealed details of the Batagaika crater, a one kilometre long gash in Russia's Far East that forms the world's biggest permafrost crater.

In the video two explorers clamber across uneven terrain at the base of the depression, marked by irregular surfaces and small hummocks, which began to form after the surrounding forest was cleared in the 1960s and the permafrost underground began to melt, causing the land to sink.

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