Arctic Peoples
Event Summary
from Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

The Health Impacts of Permafrost Thaw in Alaska

Washeteria in Nunapicuaq.
Foundation failure caused Nunapicuaq’s washeteria to temporarily close in 2022, leaving the village without running water for cleaning dishes, flushing toilets, and laundry.

Imagine you urgently need to see your doctor, but the road from your house to the clinic in town is potholed and crumbling, and it shifts from day to day. Or perhaps the ground beneath your house is sinking, and the door frame is too crooked to fully shut out the cold and the damp. 

That’s the reality for many people living in the Alaskan Arctic. “There's kids growing up in homes like that all over Alaska,” said Edward Alexander, Senior Arctic Lead at Woodwell Climate Research Center, during an April seminar on permafrost thaw and health. “In the house that can't open the window, you can't get the fresh air in. The front door might open or might not.”

Permafrost thaw in Alaska is more than an environmental or infrastructure crisis: it is a rapidly escalating public health disaster. Destabilization of essential infrastructure such as water treatment facilities, roads, and healthcare centers exposes rural and Native Alaskans to waterborne diseases and toxins, food insecurity, respiratory illness, and other mental and physical health hazards. The disruption of critical infrastructure also hampers delivery of medical services, particularly in remote areas where healthcare access is already scarce.

The Belfer Center’s Arctic Initiative hosted a discussion with environmental science and public health experts to dissect the science of permafrost thaw and its impacts on human health. The speakers included Edward Alexander, Senior Arctic Lead at Woodwell Climate Research Center and Co-Chair of Gwich’in Council International; Dr. Stuart Harris, Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Founder of the Division of Space, Ecological, Arctic, and Resource-limited Medicine, and John P. Holdren, Co-Chair of the Arctic Initiative. The seminar was sponsored by the Permafrost Pathways Project, a joint initiative of Woodwell Climate Research Center and the Belfer Center’s Arctic Initiative focusing on climate science, policy, and environmental justice.

At the seminar’s conclusion, Arctic Initiative Research Assistant Aruni Ranaweera introduced a new policy brief, co-authored with Senior Program Coordinator Tessa Varvares, which offers an overview of the acute health hazards posed by permafrost thaw, as well as opportunities for policymakers to combat these challenges using government and community resources.

Watch the recording and read key points and a transcript from the discussion below.

Watch the Recording

Key Discussion Points

  • The Science of Permafrost Thaw: 85% of Alaska is underlain by permafrost, a frozen mixture of soil, sand, rock, and ice. As temperatures rise, permafrost thaws and the land above the permafrost slumps and subsides, damaging infrastructure, releasing toxins and pathogens, and increasing vulnerability to erosion and wildfires. Organic carbon trapped in the permafrost decomposes and is released as carbon dioxide and methane, intensifying climate change. The magnitude of permafrost thaw’s global impact is still very uncertain but potentially large. Better monitoring and modeling is needed to inform both local adaptation measures and global mitigation strategies.
  • A Local Perspective on Permafrost Thaw: Permafrost thaw is already disrupting the daily lives and hurting the health of many Alaskans, particularly Alaska Natives. While reducing greenhouse gas emissions is the only proven way to slow or stop permafrost thaw, adaptation measures are urgently needed as many communities are already experiencing impacts that require immediate infrastructure and health solutions. However, uncertainty about many permafrost thaw-related risks, such as permafrost-wildfire interactions and toxins contained in permafrost, hampers adaptation efforts at the local level. Indigenous knowledge and leadership are crucial for shaping appropriate policy responses.
  • Climate Change Affects Human Health: A functioning biosphere is the foundation for human health, wealth, and stability. From an evolutionary standpoint, humans are adapted to live in a relatively narrow set of environmental conditions. Therefore, climate policy is health policy. The way most societies are organized today does not recognize the relationship between human health and ecosystem health. Failure to aggressively address climate change and environmental degradation is a poor economic decision and one that goes against our rational self-interest as a species. 

Read the Transcript

Recommended citation

Hanlon, Elizabeth. “The Health Impacts of Permafrost Thaw in Alaska.” Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, May 2, 2025

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