WASHINGTON: Scientists have warned about the dangers of viruses dormant in the Arctic regions as melting Arctic permafrost could release them, known as 'zombie viruses'.

As temperatures rise due to global warming, frozen ice sheets are melting at a rapid rate. In 2022, scientists revived some of the ancient virus samples found in Siberian permafrost to better understand the potential dangers associated with viruses that had been frozen in them for years.

Although such viruses have not yet posed a significant threat, the possibility of a pandemic in the future cannot be ruled out. Therefore, researchers point out that it is necessary to study these viruses.

In Siberia in northern Russia, soil that has been frozen for hundreds of years and is at temperatures below zero degrees Celsius is known as 'permafrost'. Permafrost is a permanently frozen layer on or under Earth's surface. It consists of soil, gravel, and sand, usually bound together by ice.

Researchers have previously identified and revived 13 viruses belonging to five different groups collected from snow in the permafrost. Among these, the researchers revived a 48,500-year-old virus capable of infecting cultured cells.

Such viruses can be found in fossils, including mammoths trapped in permafrost for thousands of years. The possibility of a dormant virus responsible for another outbreak in humans cannot be ruled out.

In the context of the Covid, the scientific world is engaged in researches to identify viruses that are likely to cause the next pandemic and develop preventive measures.