This story originally appeared on Grist and is part of the Climate Desk collaboration.
In the fall of 2016, soaring temperatures caused the permafrost encasing a remote Norwegian mountainside to thaw. An ensuing flood breached the entrance tunnel of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, built into the mountain as a fortress to safeguard the world’s seeds. The rush of water signified a dire warning: Not even a multimillion-dollar “doomsday” vault designed to fortify the world’s food supply can escape the wrath of a warming planet.
As humanity continues to blow past key climate thresholds, the security risks threatening the