Cold environments - AQADevelopment challenges

Developing infrastructure for mineral extraction, fossil fuels or tourism is very difficult in cold environments. The following challenges can cause problems for development:

• Extreme temperature - very low temperatures and long hours of darkness make building very difficult.
• Relief - mountainous areas and rugged terrain make cold environments very inaccessible for vehicles delivering materials for construction.
• Buildings - if the permafrost layer begins to melt, the ground becomes very unstable and susceptible to landslides. Creating foundations for buildings is very difficult making further development challenging.
• Infrastructure - building roads, railways and pipelines for water and electricity supplies is very difficult on frozen ground that is liable to melting.