Ministry sees damage from permafrost thawing at 5 tln rbl by 2050

ST. PETERSBURG, May 27 (PRIME) -- Damage from permafrost thawing in Russia can amount to 5 trillion rubles by 2050, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Alexander Kozlov said at a congress Thursday.

"Experts from the Moscow State University, the Russian Academy of Sciences, and Gidrospetsgeologiay have assessed and forecasted possible damage from permafrost degradation. It will amount to no less than 5 trillion rubles by 2050. This depends on the pace of thawing," Kozlov said.

Permafrost estimated at 11 million square kilometers accounts for 65% of the Russian territory.

(73.4737 – U.S. $1)

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