Greenland’s culture shifts as the Arctic heats up

Icebergs bigger than city blocks loom through the mist as Kaleeraq Mathaeussen reels in halibut from the frigid waters one by one.

“Each season is not how it used to be,” he says. It’s become windier and more unpredictable.

More than 250km (155 miles) inside the Arctic Circle, the coastal town of Ilulissat in western Greenland is also a busy port.

Kaleeraq has been fishing the waters here since he was 14 years old and, like other locals, has observed changes around him.

In winter he used to travel on the ice with a sled pulled by his dogs. But the sea no longer freezes like it used to.

“Ever since 2001 I noticed the winter seasons in Disko Bay didn’t have as much ice,” he says.

“I was very worried when I started to notice that the ice barrier was getting weaker and witnessing such an astronomical change in the climate,” he explains.

“Today it is unpredictable and too dangerous to go fishing with my sled dogs,” he explains. He stopped sledding two years ago and now he only fishes by boat.

Communities in northern Greenland have lived in one of the world’s toughest environments for centuries.

But temperatures have risen faster in the Arctic region than elsewhere on earth, and the impact of climate change is being felt in the local way of life.

On the outskirts of Ilulissat, colourful apartment blocks overlook a field that’s home to dozens and dozens of dogs.

Kaleeraq still owns more than 30. Before he used his dogs for tourism, but now only keeps them for his teenage son. “I still miss that way of life, but it just has to be like this for now,” he says.

Dog sledding has been a long-held tradition in the north and east of Greenland. But many local hunters and fishermen have given it up and the number of sled dogs has slumped nationwide.

Around two decades ago there were around 5,000 dogs in Ilulissat alone, but now there are only about 1,800, says Flemming Lauritzen, who runs a dog-sledding tour business with his wife Ane Sofie.

When she was growing up sled dogs were always around, she says. “I’m not happy to see [the dogs] disappearing from our culture.”

Diseases and snowmobiles are partly responsible. Also, climate change has had an impact. “The season is getting shorter and shorter. We can feel that,” says Flemming.

Over the years they’ve also witnessed the nearby glaciers retreat.

“All of this ice is missing now,” Flemming says as he points to a map of the Sermeq Kujalleg or Jakobshavn glacier.

It is an outlet of the Greenland ice cap. Over 35,000 cubic metres of ice calve from the glacier each year, and more icebergs spew into Disko Bay than anywhere else in the northern hemisphere.

Tour boat skipper George Jonathansen skilfully weaves around these giants. Even young people like him have seen change within their lifetimes.

“When I was a kid, the weather was more predictable. Nowadays… we never know how the winter is going to be,” he says.

“I think this year has been unusual compared to the others.” This summer was cold, he says, “A lot of places in Greenland have record rain.”

When asked about climate change, Palle Jerimiassen, the local mayor of the Avannaata district, says: “We can feel it every day. We can see it every day.”

Further north, near Thule, retreating sea ice is impacting local hunters, he tells the BBC. “They are used to going on some very long hunting tours. They can’t do it anymore. So they have to change their way of living.”

“There are some negative things. There are also some positive things,” he states.

In some ways, Arctic life has become easier. Milder winters have brought new opportunities, and Ilulissat is booming.

Nutrients from glacial meltwater are enriching marine life and it’s now possible to fish year-round by boat. Halibut also fetches a higher price, and fishermen like Kaleeraq are now better off.

Source: BBC