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Since the COVID-19 pandemic, scientists have been preparing for the next global health threat—and many now believe it could emerge from one of the coldest, most remote regions on Earth: the Arctic.

As climate change accelerates, rising temperatures are rapidly melting glaciers and permafrost, releasing ancient, long-dormant microbes that have been frozen for tens of thousands of years. These so-called “zombie viruses” have the potential to awaken after millennia of inactivity. Some have already been revived in controlled lab environments, including Pithovirus sibericum, a 30,000-year-old virus, and Pacmanvirus lupus, extracted from the remains of a 27,000-year-old frozen wolf.

This isn’t just theory—there are real-world examples. In 2016, a reindeer carcass infected with anthrax thawed during a heatwave in Siberia. The spores released from its decomposing body caused a deadly outbreak, infecting dozens and killing a young boy. In 2023, researchers analyzing ancient glacier ice in China uncovered 1,700 previously unknown viruses—many of them genetically unlike anything seen before.

Why does this matter? Because humanity may be utterly unprepared to face what’s hiding beneath the ice. These ancient viruses could be unlike anything our immune systems have ever encountered. Zoonotic diseases—those that jump from animals to humans—pose a serious risk, especially in remote regions where medical infrastructure is minimal. If a virus were to begin spreading in the Arctic, it could take precious time to detect and contain it.

Scientists are sounding the alarm: what happens in the Arctic won’t stay there. As the planet warms, the frozen past may awaken—and with it, threats we’re only beginning to understand.