Methane explosion in Arctic intensifies climate fears
A methane explosion that created another sinkhole in the Russian Arctic peninsula has raised concerns that climate change could accelerate even more quickly than feared. The explosion occurred on 28 June on the Yamal Peninsula, which already has at least ten known sinkholes. Methane explosions could be a consequence of climate change, which causes permafrost to melt, releasing gas hydrates from the ground. Methane, a greenhouse gas, is over 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide in terms of heat-trapping capacity. Increased release of the gas thus threatens to speed up global warming.
SIBERIAN TIMES The eruption left a 165ft crater in the Arctic tundra

The terrifying account came from a herdsman on the Yamal peninsula amid warnings of more than 700 sites in the region where further methane gas eruptions are predicted endangering homes and industrial sites. He was left clinging to a new-born deer after its mother bolted in fear. The sudden and deafening bang shook the ground and sent flames shooting into the sky after the explosion on the bank of an Arctic river, herders told top Russian scientists who raced to the scene following last week's eruption.

Fire raged at the site for "several minutes" with huge lumps of frozen soil was thrown on either side of the river bank. The funnel is believed to have erupted due to a warming climate leading to thawing permafrost and the release of methane gas which has lain frozen under the surface for thousands of years. Professor Vasily Bogoyavlensky, Russia's leading expert on this recently-noticed phenomenon of blowout craters, cancelled his Black Sea vacation and rushed to the polar site.

SIBERIAN TIMES A new river funnel was formed after the explosion

He used a fishing line to measure the 165 ft depth of the new water-filled crater 20 miles from Seyakha village, the latest of a dozen holes that have suddenly pockmarked the Siberian Arctic.

The rocks are singed from the extreme heat A local witness

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Mikhail Okotetto told TV channel Yamal-region of a fellow herder who was close to the eruption. "The reindeer fled to the south, but he had newborn calf [in his hands],” he said. "So the reindeer and dogs all ran away, and he was just left there standing with the newborn calf."

Another local said: "It was like a new volcano exploding. "Of course there was no lava, but the rocks are singed from the extreme heat." Dr Anton Sinitsky, director of the Arctic Research Centre, was "shocked" by the force of the blast and witnessed "charred sand and grass" close to the crater. He expressed the fear that such methane eruptions "can pop up anywhere" in permafrost Yamal.

SIBERIAN TIMES Reindeer herders call scientists to the scene after the eruption

Alexander Mazharov, deputy governor of Yamalo-Nenets autonomous region, said it was vital to predict future explosions in a region that supplies natural gas to Europe. Towns and villages, industrial facilities along with pipelines and railways were all at risk, he warned. Some 700 sites where the ground is "bulging" or "swelling" have been identified as vulnerable to similar explosions, reported The Siberian Times. "It is very important for us also to know what to do because such an eruption can occur anywhere," he said.