Produced by: Mohsin Shaikh
Nicknamed the “gateway to the underworld,” the Batagay megaslump exposes permafrost frozen for over 650,000 years—revealing Earth's ancient secrets layer by layer.
Since the 1970s, the slump has widened dramatically due to climate change and deforestation, reshaping landscapes once stable for millennia.
Permafrost holds time capsules of ancient ecosystems; DNA, spores, and sediment layers preserve a record of Siberia’s environmental evolution.
Credit: Alexander Kizyakov, Lomonosov Moscow State University
In 2018, scientists discovered a 42,000-year-old foal perfectly preserved in the slump—hinting at countless other prehistoric remains still buried in the ice.
Deforestation has removed the insulating tree cover, allowing sunlight to speed up permafrost melt, turning stable ground into crumbling earth.
Paleoclimatologist Thomas Opel calls Batagay a unique research site where past climates can be studied in situ as the ice retreats and history resurfaces.
Credit: University of Toronto
Batagay's exposed layers act like tree rings—each slice a snapshot of Earth’s past climate, offering context for today’s environmental crises.
With 80% of the ground made of ice, melting causes massive sediment flow, reshaping valleys and feeding rivers with mud and meltwater.
Batagay doesn’t just reveal the past—it reflects our future. The thawing terrain is a visible, expanding reminder of climate change’s long-term reach.