Slow-motion wrecks: how thawing permafrost is destroying Arctic cities

Cracking and collapsing homes are a growing problem in cities such as Norilsk in northern Russia. As climate change accelerates the problem, what can be done to maintain the resource-rich hubs the country relies on?At first, Yury Scherbakov thought the cracks appearing in a wall he had installed in his two-room flat were caused by shoddy workmanship. But then other walls started cracking, and then the floor started to incline. “We sat on the couch and could feel it tilt,” says his wi