US-ALASKA-ENVIRONMENT-CLIMATE

A house sits on melting permafrost tundra caused by rising temperatures, at the Yupik Eskimo village of Quinhagak on the Yukon Delta in Alaska on April 12, 2019. - With recent unusually high temperatures life in this remote villages has been affected causing eroded land, flooding, and difficulties to access roads and to hunting. Local leaders are also mulling moving the entire village of 700 people to safer grounds. "From 1901 to 2016, average temperatures in the mainland United States increased by 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit (one degree Celsius), whereas in Alaska they increased by 4.7 degrees," said Rick Thoman, a climate expert with the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy. According to a 2009 report by the Government Accountability Office, the majority of the state's more than 200 native villages are affected by erosion and flooding, with 31 facing "inminent threats". (Photo by Mark RALSTON / AFP) (Photo credit should read MARK RALSTON/AFP via Getty Images)