麻豆约拍

Temperatures in the Arctic are rising at more than twice the global average, and as the ice pack melts, battle lines are being drawn between global superpowers, who are eyeing up the resources and looking to exploit the area. Katarzyna Zysk, Head of the Security Policy Centre at the Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies, explains the economic importance of the Arctic to Russia - Russia has calculated that thirty trillion dollars' worth of oil lie under the surface, and with ice become thinner, the cost of mining valuable resources in the area has become cheaper - and the challenges posed by the permafrost thaw. Malte Humbert, Senior Fellow and Founder of the Arctic Institute, explains Russia's nuclear ambitions in the region.

Photo: The Monument to the Defenders of the Soviet Arctic, Murmansk, on Russia's Arctic coast Credit: TASS via Getty Images