--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The permafrost is still warmest at the…" description: "\"“The permafrost is still warmest at the very bottom, but instead of being coldest at the top, it is coldest somewhere in the middle, and warmer again t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2d/elizabeth-kolbert-7570_climate_the-permafrost-is-still-warmest-at-the-v_1807309.png" --- # The permafrost is still warmest at the very bottom, but… ![“The permafrost is still warmest at the very bottom, but instead of being coldest at the top, it is coldest somewhere in the middle, and warmer again toward the surface. This is a sign—and an unambiguous one—that the climate is heating up.” quote by Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2d/elizabeth-kolbert-7570_climate_the-permafrost-is-still-warmest-at-the-v_1807309.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2d/elizabeth-kolbert-7570_climate_the-permafrost-is-still-warmest-at-the-v_1807309.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2d/elizabeth-kolbert-7570_climate_the-permafrost-is-still-warmest-at-the-v_1807309.png) > ““The permafrost is still warmest at the very bottom, but instead of being coldest at the top, it is coldest somewhere in the middle, and warmer again toward the surface. This is a sign—and an unambiguous one—that the climate is heating up.”” [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Permafrost warming shows the climate is heating from the middle upward, contradicting expectations of surface‑first warming. **In simple terms:** Middle of permafrost warming proves climate change. Key Takeaway Monitor deep‑earth temperature trends. Themes climate science permafrost temperature gradients Mood analytical concerned Type scientific educational When to use this quote - climate policy - research - public awareness Key Concepts heat diffusion feedback loops environmental indicators Questions to Reflect On - What does middle‑layer warming imply for future climate models? - How can we improve deep‑earth monitoring? A Different Perspective Data may be limited in depth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Climate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate/) [Coldest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coldest/) [Coldest Middle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coldest-middle-2084688/) [Permafrost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/permafrost-2084687/) [Permafrost Warmest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/permafrost-warmest-2084686/) [Warmer Surface](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/warmer-surface-2084689/) ## Related quotes > [“Prejudice is permafrost”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/prejudice-is-permafrost/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [“A recent estimate suggests that the perennially frozen ground known as permafrost, which underlies nearly a quarter of the Northern Hemisphere, contains twice as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-gillis/a-recent-estimate-suggests-that-the-perennially-frozen-ground-known/) [Justin Gillis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-gillis/) > [“Sob a frieza do permafrost eu ainda espero o verão voltar.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/filipe-russo/sob-a-frieza-do-permafrost-eu-ainda-espero-o-ver-o-voltar/) [Filipe Russo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/filipe-russo/) > [ Permafrost in the soil \[is melting\], in the boreal and arctic areas in the world, and, probably even more alarming in the last six… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/permafrost-in-the-soil-is-melting-in-the-boreal-and-arctic-areas-in/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [“I am not snotty!" I nearly yelped. He leaned back on his elbows, a wicked smile on his face. "Please.The first day I met…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-hawkins/i-am-not-snotty-i-nearly-yelped-he-leaned-back-on-his-elbows-a-wicked/) [Rachel Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-hawkins/) > [My dad, a geologist, was an expert in glaciers and permafrost, so we moved to a lot of cold places such as Canada, Iceland…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-worsley/my-dad-a-geologist-was-an-expert-in-glaciers-and-permafrost-so-we/) [Lucy Worsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-worsley/) > [I am shocked, truly shocked. I was in Siberia a few weeks ago, and I am now just back in from the field in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katey-walter/i-am-shocked-truly-shocked-i-was-in-siberia-a-few-weeks-ago-and-i-am/) [Katey Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katey-walter/) > [Melting permafrost in Greenland and the Arctic tundra is releasing vast amounts of methane, a potent climate-altering gas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tatiana-schlossberg/melting-permafrost-in-greenland-and-the-arctic-tundra-is-releasing/) [Tatiana Schlossberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tatiana-schlossberg/) > [Many climate scientists say their biggest fear is that warming could melt the Arctic permafrost - which stretches for thousands of miles across Alaska,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-specter/many-climate-scientists-say-their-biggest-fear-is-that-warming-could/) [Michael Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-specter/) > [We need to be realistic. There is very little we can do now to stop the ice from disappearing from the North Pole in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prince-charles/we-need-to-be-realistic-there-is-very-little-we-can-do-now-to-stop/) [Prince Charles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prince-charles/) > [Chinese engineers have spent years finding solutions to the problems of building a railway line on permafrost ground at altitudes above 4,000 metre.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prashant-bhushan/chinese-engineers-have-spent-years-finding-solutions-to-the-problems/) [Prashant Bhushan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prashant-bhushan/) > [When we are together, even the coldest day feels warm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/when-we-are-together-even-the-coldest-day-feels-warm/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [The warm love has the coldest end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/the-warm-love-has-the-coldest-end/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [You can be the coldest rapper, but if you're not known, you're nobody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-40/you-can-be-the-coldest-rapper-but-if-you-re-not-known-you-re-nobody/) [E-40](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-40/) > [“Sometimes the coldest places are not in the midst of winter, when your”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-fortin/sometimes-the-coldest-places-are-not-in-the-midst-of-winter-when-your/) [Sue Fortin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-fortin/) ## More by Elizabeth Kolbert > [“The size of the greenhouse forcing is estimated, at this point, to be 2.5 w/m2. A miniature Christmas light gives off about four tenths…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/the-size-of-the-greenhouse-forcing-is-estimated-at-this-point-to-be-2/) [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) > [You've got to do everything, everything's got to be pointing in the same direction and you've got to really turn this whole economic engine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/you-ve-got-to-do-everything-everything-s-got-to-be-pointing-in-the/) [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) > [Well in the scientific there is virtually no debate over certain things. For example, that we are changing the world. Humans are changing the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/well-in-the-scientific-there-is-virtually-no-debate-over-certain/) [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) > [Humans will eventually become extinct. 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