A leading charity has warned that the declining permafrost due to the impact of global warming could cost a whopping $43 trillion to the global economy.

Researchers from the University of Cambridge and the University of Colorado pointed out that climate change could cost $43 trillion worth of economic damage to the world by the year 2200.Arctic permafrost, which is soil at or below the freezing point of waterfor two or more years, is essential for the environment as it plays an important role in trapping greenhouse gases below the Earth's surface.

The researchers said that increasing global temperatures are impact the permafrost and resulting in permafrost releasing carbon dioxide and methane into the air.The melting permafrostincreases the predicted economic impact of climate change from $326 trillion to $369 trillion by 2200, according to a letter published in Nature Climate Change. The data showed that permafrost is currently holding 1,700 gigatons or 1.7 trillion tons of carbon.

The researchers calculated the rate at which the permafrost might release its gases and then used this estimation to predict the cost to mitigate the effects of the additional carbon and methane in order arrive at the figures. The costs include price of increased air conditioning use, as well as losses to the agriculture sector. They also considered the change's influence on public health systems, ecosystems and the frequency of natural disasters.

They said that melting of the Arctic permafrost and the subsequent release of carbon dioxide and methane gas will alone cost $43 trillionto the global economy.economist Chris Hope of the University of Cambridge and the polar expert Kevin Schaefer of the University of Colorado conducted the study to estimate the amount of economic damage to the global economy.

Dr Hope said, "We want to use these models to help us make better decisions-linking scientific and economic models together is a way to help us do that. We need to estimate how much it will cost if we do nothing, how much it will cost if we do something, and how much we need to spend to cut back greenhouse gases."