The inhabitants of Newtok, a village in western Alaska, are the first officially recognized climate migrants in the United States. Others could soon be sharing their fate.
The effects of climate change have been felt in Alaska for several decades. Rising temperatures are leading to changes in nature, which in turn determines the living conditions. About 80% of Alaska’s surface is covered with permafrost. Deep and compact in the north, it becomes shallower and loses its permanence as it approaches the state’s southern bounds.