Picture of aerial view of Elveneset and the Bay of Sassenfjorden with white snow on blue ice.

See what a year looks like in the fastest-warming place on Earth

Melting fjords, increasing avalanches, imperiled wildlife. Our photographer documented the effects of climate change through all four seasons in Svalbard, Norway.

Svalbard’s bay of Sassenfjorden—here, in early March—spreads out beyond peaks favored by hikers. The Norwegian archipelago’s smaller fjords once froze over in winter, but warmer temperatures now keep the water flowing in some year-round. On Svalbard, Stefano Unterthiner saw an environment in peril—and a warning sign for the rest of the world.
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