![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://uknews.evprotec.com/svalbard-the-race-to-save-the-fastest-warming-place-on-earth/&media=https://uknews.evprotec.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/127383991_2mountainside.jpg&description=Deep inside the Arctic Circle, the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard is home to the world's northernmost permanent settlement, Longyearbyen, which is estimated to be heating at six times the global average. So what is being done to save it?Svalbard's church is a blood-red wooden building with bright white trim - the most northerly place of worship in the world.Its priest, Siv Limstrand, has been here for only three years but is shocked by the impact of climate change she has witnessed in that time. "Every Sunday when we gather for worship, a part of our intercessions is always about climate change and its threats," explains Limstrand. "We know that the clock is ticking." Life on Svalbard feels about as precarious as it gets in a place that is not at war or riven with famine. You need a gun whenever you venture from the main road of Longyearbyen, the capital of this Norwegian archipelago, because of the risk of encountering polar bears. Diminishing ice has reduced their hunting ground which means it is harder for them to find seals. So more bears are exploring built-up areas in search of food and are now eating reindeer - not their usual prey. Listen to the documentary Svarlbard's climate change fight on BBC Sounds - or download the podcastAnd with the rising temperature causing an unprecedented thawing of frozen ground, the growing risk of avalanche hangs over this Arctic community in winter. In summer, mudslides are more likely than ever to wipe out everything in their path.You feel on borrowed time here in what successive scientific studies have found is the fastest-warming place on Earth.Experts from the Norwegian Polar Institute are among those who calculate it is heating six times faster than the global average.The consensus is that the temperature in Svalbard has jumped 4C in the past 50 years. Wildlife and human life are now in a struggle to survive. This is why Limstrand's congregation is praying for help. To show us the impact of man-made climate change, sh){kind=link}
Deep inside the Arctic Circle, the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard is home to the world’s northernmost permanent settlement, Longyearbyen, which is estimated to be heating at six times the global average. So what is being done to save it?
Svalbard’s church is a blood-red wooden building with bright white trim – the most northerly place of worship in the world.
Its priest, Siv Limstrand, has been here for only three years but is shocked by the impact of climate change she has witnessed in that time.
“Every Sunday when we gather for worship, a part of our intercessions is always about climate change and its threats,” explains Limstrand. “We know that the clock is ticking.”
Life on Svalbard feels about as precarious as it gets in a place that is not at war or riven with famine.