Sergey Zimov, 66, a scientist who works at Russia's Northeast Science Station, holds an ice crystal in the underground area where sample materials are stored in permafrost at the Pleistocene Park outside of the town of Chersky, Sakha (Yakutia) Republic, Russia, September 13, 2021. Zimov believes the COVID-19 pandemic has shown how permafrost thaw is already releasing greenhouse gas. Despite factories scaling back activity worldwide during the pandemic which also caused global transport to slow dramatically, Zimov says the concentration of methane and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has been growing at a faster rate. "Methane has never increased in the atmosphere at the speed it is today...I think this is linked to our permafrost," he said, citing data from a U.S.-managed network of global monitoring stations. Picture taken September 13, 2021. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov SEARCH "PERMAFROST SHEMETOV" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES