The Batagaika Crater, an immense fracture in the depths of the Russian Far East, was splintered open just a few decades due to defrosting and thawing permafrost. Decades on, with climate change continuing to cook up this part of the world, the literal scar on the planet is continuing to grow.
The crack, widely known as the biggest permafrost crater on Earth, is found in the Sakha Republic among the Chersky Range, a chain of mountains in northeastern Siberia between the Yana River and the Indigirka River.
Locals call it the “Gateway to the Underworld” – and it's easy to see why. The tadpole-shaped gash is up to 100 meters (328 feet) deep and around 1 kilometer (0.6 mile) long, surrounded by the dense boreal forests of rural Russia.
Scientists prefer to call it a "megaslump." It was first reported in the 1960s when prolific deforestation in the area upset the ground’s permafrost, weakening the ground to the point of collapse.
Year after year, it's seemingly been getting bigger. Some research has suggested it may be expanding at a rate of 10 to 30 meters (33 to 98 feet) per year. This expansion is thought to be the result of climate change in the area leading to warmer summers and shorter winters, spelling bad news for the permafrost that holds together the ground.
As Reuters reports this week, explorers have recently delved into the Batagaika mega slump and came back with some incredible footage of the trip, showing the crater from the inside.
Other parts of Russia are also seeing unusual geological activity due to rising temperatures. In the summer of 2020, an enormous sinkhole with a diameter of over 20 meters (65 feet) and a depth of more than 30 meters (98 feet) appeared in northwest Siberia. The crater was effectively blasted open after an explosive bubble of methane gas popped beneath the ground in the remote tundra.
Fortunately, sinkholes and megaslumps in Siberia have only been reported in remote and uninhabited places so far. However, they could easily pose a threat to people and infrastructure if they occurred in a built-up area.
Other places have not been so lucky. In 2021, around 100 sinkholes popped up in two villages not far from Croatia's capital city of Zagreb, some of which were extremely close to people’s houses.
