Unique Ice road to diamond mines in Canada threatened due to warm December

The climate change in Canada’s North West Territories (NWT), especially the warm December, is threatening the unique ice road that helps the remotely located diamond mines in the region to receive supplies round the year, say reports in the Canadian media. The unique ice road, which is 400 km long and constructed across frozen lakes and marshy tundra lands and known as the Tibbitt to Contwoyto Winter Road after the first and last lakes on the route, is the only link between the mines and the region’s capital at Yellowknife for nearly two months of the year when weather conditions make it impossible to use air transport. 

The importance of the ice road can be gauged from the fact that last year it was used to move about 9,000 truckloads of diesel, machines and mining supplies, the reports said. This year, the region has experienced its second warmest December ever with average temperature this month being just above -15 Celsius and this is posing problems for the road.