‘Disaster worse than Chernobyl’ looms as ancient anthrax spores could be blasted into the sky by ‘frozen methane bombs’, scientists warn
Other old diseases such as smallpox and the Spanish flu could also be awoken in the warming temperatures
PREHISTORIC diseases laying dormant in ancient ice could soon be unleashed due to climate change.
Cities built on permafrost in Russia are now seeing temperatures which could destroy their infrastructure and result in anthrax poisoning.
In some parts of Russia, anthrax is known as the “Siberian plague”.
This is because the anthrax bacteria, which can occur naturally in the soil, has been killing livestock and people there for hundreds of years.
Anthrax and other deadly disease causing bacteria can lie dormant in permafrost or ice and will only be released if melting occurs.
Permafrost is a thick layer of soil below the ground which has remained frozen for longer than two years.
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Two thirds of ice in the Alps will melt by 2100 due to climate change, scientists warn.
Nuclear ‘time bomb’ as radioactive Chernobyl fallout trapped in melting ice could be released all around the world.
What are your thoughts on Russia's melting ice problem? Let us know in the comments...
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