This Town Was Already in Crisis. Then Rapid Arctic Melting Starting Making Its Tap Water Undrinkable

As fossil fuel pollution cranks up global temperatures, no place on Earth is warming faster than the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard. There, temperatures are rising five to seven times faster than the global average rate, and for residents of Longyearbyen, that could mean their water supply is in danger.

Longyearbyen, with its population of roughly 2,400, is the capital and largest settled area of Svalbard. It’s also one of the world’s northernmost settlements, located just 800 miles (1,300 kilometers) from…