Yakutia, a vast and remote region in eastern Russia is one of the coldest inhabited places on the planet. But thawing of the permafrost – which is destroying houses and infrastructure and releasing millions of tonnes of carbon – is wreaking havoc here. Yakutia is heating up twice as fast as any other place on Earth. The town of Verkhoyansk, more than 400 miles further north than Anchorage, Alaska, topped 38C in 2020, the highest temperature ever recorded above the Arctic Circle at that time. This year it was even hotter. An area the size of Portugal has been ablaze, creating toxic smoke that has led to an air-pollution disaster. (1) The arctic fox of the dumpster Anastasia Nikiforova in the Yakutsk circus, the most northern circus of the world. The Arctic fox faces a multitude of threats from climate change: its sea ice and tundra habitat are shrinking, its lemming prey are becoming less abundant in some areas, and it faces increased competition and displacement by the red fox which is moving northward as temperatures warm. Red foxes are twice the size of Arctic foxes and not only compete for prey, but can take their dens by killing or chasing them away. (2) Fire fighters take a rest near Magaras, Yakutia Past week in the Climate Special of @financialtimes and @de_volkskrant @magnumphotos