Climate change, mass casualty incidents, and emergency response in the Arctic

Abstract Acute emergencies have been neglected in efforts to understand and respond to the transformational climatic changes underway in the Arctic. Across the circumpolar north, social-technological changes, extreme weather, and changing ice conditions threaten lives and infrastructure, increasing the risk of mass casualty incidents (MCIs), particularly as they impact transportation systems including global shipping, aviation, and community use of semi-permanent trails on the ice, land, and water. The Arctic is an inherently dangerous environment to operate in, and due to living in permanent settlements and the uptake of mechanised modes of transportation and navigation technologies, people’s exposure to risks has changed. In responding to potential MCIs, emergency response systems face challenges due to remoteness, weather, and changing environmental conditions. We examine emergency response capacity in the Arctic, focusing on search and rescue and using examples from Canada and Greenland, identifying opportunities for enhancing emergency response as part of climate adaptation efforts.