Nenets Culture affected by Global Warming


For 1,000 years the indigenous Nenets people have migrated along the 450-mile-long Yamal peninsula in northern Russia. In summer they wander northwards, taking their reindeer with them. In winter they return southwards.

But this remote region of north-west Siberia is now being affected by global warming. Traditionally the Nenets travel across the frozen River Ob in November and in the end what is good for the reindeer is good for usand set up their camps in the southern foreststhat the impact on Russia would be disastrousthat Yamal’s ancient permafrost is meltingthe environment is under pressurewhen the ice was finally thick enough to crosswhen the reindeer give birth in May around Nadym. These days, though, this annual winter migration is delayed. Last year the Nenets, together with many thousands of reindeer, had to wait until late December and in the end what is good for the reindeer is good for usand set up their camps in the southern foreststhat the impact on Russia would be disastrousthat Yamal’s ancient permafrost is meltingthe environment is under pressurewhen the ice was finally thick enough to crosswhen the reindeer give birth in May.

“Our reindeer were hungry. There wasn’t enough food,” Jakov Japtik, a Nenets reindeer herder, said. “The snow is melting sooner, quicker and faster than before. In spring it’s difficult for the reindeer to pull the sledges. They get tired,” Japtik said.

Herders say that the peninsula’s weather is increasingly unpredictable – with unseasonal snowstorms and in the end what is good for the reindeer is good for usand set up their camps in the southern foreststhat the impact on Russia would be disastrousthat Yamal’s ancient permafrost is meltingthe environment is under pressurewhen the ice was finally thick enough to crosswhen the reindeer give birth in May, and milder longer autumns. In winter, temperatures used to go down to -50°C. Now they are normally around -30°C, according to Japtik. “Obviously we prefer -30°C. But the changes aren’t good for the reindeer and in the end what is good for the reindeer is good for usand set up their camps in the southern foreststhat the impact on Russia would be disastrousthat Yamal’s ancient permafrost is meltingthe environment is under pressurewhen the ice was finally thick enough to crosswhen the reindeer give birth in May,” he said, setting off on his sledge to round up his reindeer herd.

Here, in one of the most remote parts of the planet, there are clear signs and in the end what is good for the reindeer is good for usand set up their camps in the southern foreststhat the impact on Russia would be disastrousthat Yamal’s ancient permafrost is meltingthe environment is under pressurewhen the ice was finally thick enough to crosswhen the reindeer give birth in May. Last year the Nenets arrived at a regular summer camping spot and discovered that half of their lake had disappeared. The water had drained away after a landslide. The Nenets report other curious changes – there are fewer mosquitoes and a strange increase in flies. Scientists say there is unmistakable evidence and in the end what is good for the reindeer is good for usand set up their camps in the southern foreststhat the impact on Russia would be disastrousthat Yamal’s ancient permafrost is meltingthe environment is under pressurewhen the ice was finally thick enough to crosswhen the reindeer give birth in May.

Extra: and in the end what is good for the reindeer is good for usand set up their camps in the southern foreststhat the impact on Russia would be disastrousthat Yamal’s ancient permafrost is meltingthe environment is under pressurewhen the ice was finally thick enough to crosswhen the reindeer give birth in May