The Big Melt

The Arctic is feeling the effects of rapid climate change more quickly than anyplace else on the planet. That's bad news for the four million people who live in the region, and the seven billion of us who don't. Because what happens in the Arctic doesn't stay in the Arctic.The Big Melt: Life in the changing Arctic explores the science of climate change in the north and the lives of the people who are living through those changes.The series is a partnership between The World and the Threshold Podcast, whose second season Cold Comfort is all about the Arctic.Our guide is Threshold host and creator Amy Martin.This series is supported with funding from the Pulitzer Center.(Image Credit: Nick Mott) 
A red helicopter is shown landed on the Greenland ice sheet with team of three professors and three students unload their gear.
The Big Melt
PHOTOS: Up close and personal with Greenland’s massive ice sheet
Three people walk across ground covered in ice and snow as the horizon stretches behind them.
The Big Melt
As Greenland’s ice sheet melts, scientists push to learn ‘how fast’
A large oil tanker docks amid ice and snow in the Arctic. On the side, the ship's name is written in Russian characters.
The Big Melt
An environmental newspaper fights for press freedom in the Russian Arctic
portrait
The Big Melt
As the Arctic warms up, a ‘new ocean’ is bringing new commerce to the top of the world
sea ice
The Big Melt
Ice is us: Alaska Natives face the demise of the Arctic ice pack
child
The Big Melt
The Arctic’s Sámi people push for a sustainable Norway
A sun sets behind a cloud over a grey body of water
The Big Melt
Arctic permafrost is starting to thaw. Here’s why we should all care.
A person walks through a puddle in Shismaref, Alaska.
The Big Melt
An Alaskan village is falling into the sea. Washington is looking the other way.
Arctic Fox
Take our Arctic quiz
A large concrete sphere sits on a brown hill overlooking a slate blue sea.
The Big Melt
In Iceland, a shifting sculpture for a changing Arctic