that's if you're part of a new story yourself you can also use the d. w. app to send us photos and videos of what's happening around you. soldiers now terry martin of berlin got a documentary for you on the northern lights life within the park circle coming up next only the top of the next hour with more international news thanks for watching . play. play. go beyond. the stories that matter to. the ball boy ever it takes the running nut playing

a little. made for minds. this is a world of incredible natural beauty raw and hostile. one that knows no mercy . and where mistakes can have badal consequences. of. life here has always been a fight for survival. in

a world where in summer the sun never sets and in winter the nights are full of magic and color. we are exploring the most remote locations in this inhospitable terrain from greenland through the northwest passage to alaska. we meet people who sense that their world is changing. and those who are changing. this is a world in which the future of humanity will be decided. by. the arctic plate.

while taking risky maneuvers at full speed or a. feverish look for a pass. sits through the ice. to go over high. profile it's a race against time. to go right. for 3 more from. a north easterly wind that's unusually powerful for early july drives large amounts of drift ice from the arctic ocean into the fuehrer to the freezing headwind makes travel difficult and pushes the ice sheets closer and closer together creating pack ice after traveling almost 700 kilometers in the scoresby sound we find ourselves stranded in the arctic together with a parcel ice and family and one of the most isolated and inhospitable places on earth. a week before we departed iceland on

a 2 hour flight over the arctic ocean our destination it took me. a village some 800 kilometers away from its closest neighbors. the descent itself is breathtaking. on the shoreline of one of the fjords branches woodland on a gravel runway. it was built by an american oil firm which withdrew from the development in 1990 but the runway remains. we have to continue our journey by boat as there are no roads. the trip takes close to 2 hours. on a peaceful and beautiful july afternoon like this i would imagine that anything could go wrong. the colorful houses a veto court or a meat stand out like beacons between the rocks and the ice. are overwhelmed by the

incredible beauty of the arctic and its bassinets confounds our censors. the icebergs often as tall as skyscrapers. it's more than 40 kilometers from here to the shoreline on the other side of the fjord. 350 people live in a talk or tour meet almost all are in a way it. most of the work they do is directly or indirectly subsidized by the danish government. which keeps the settlement alive there's a church hospital sports center and a primary school here along with what might be the world's most spectacular soccer pitch it's artificial turf is carefully manicured between the rubble and the snow. even just opened an outdoor pool for children. it's only the 2nd one in all of

greenland. the kids splash around to the sound of techno music. even though the water's a little chilly that still need something profound. all one was the water around to tend. to it too cold for the. first step towards what we were working on well more. at the small weather station they're releasing a weather balloon like they do every day at 11 each morning and night at the same time as hundreds of weather stations around the world tore undress and runs the station he's lived for 46 years but says things have changed dramatically here in recent years well the weather systems. but your t.v. that's a big change everything. it's been a lot more wind and not more humid

a lot more rain in. time and we have now was what they had. us. well it's quite a big change above the village there's a cemetery with a stunning view even if it's getting warmer here in the summer they still digging extra graves to be able to bury those who die in winter when the ground is frozen solid. suddenly there's excitement in the village. the men are loading their guns and everyone's on their feet people drop everything to go and watch the non walls or hear. those who aren't in the boats watch from the shoreline and tell the hunters which way to go. time and again the whale submerge and the boats

chase after them the sound of large caliber weapons resonates throughout the day. the hunters fear the smell of the corpses could attract a polar bears to keep them away from the shoreline and the settlement the dead whales are hold on to an ice sheet and carved up their. outside one of the captains we meet met up barcelona's. following the action with binoculars. her husband orca and her brother of god who are taking part in the hunt . for the voyage we ask her why people here are so crazy about now walls. things going to work. or. whatever you are. you going to leave you need more or. that.

you need. to do and be right here because you know. you know the truth of. the 3rd metal invites us to stay for lunch goulash is on the menu it's the children's favorite method tells us that much has changed here in recent years. and asks if we'd like to join them on a boat trip up the fuehrer in the coming days. we travel almost 400 kilometers with them up the scoresby sound at 50 or 60 kilometers an hour navigating our way through the ice.

layer. after 4 hours of a very cold and for us off a nerve racking journey we take a break in stunning surroundings. the silence is only broken by the sound of melting glaciers. while her youngest son brian keeps an eye out for polar bears which can appear out of nowhere at any time we ask about the biggest changes she's observed here and recent years. it takes years the last years have been smelting roughly like like 10 years ago and to now it's can smell up to one kilometer. then suddenly 2 polar bears appear a mother and her cub

a potentially extremely dangerous encounter for both parties. so it's lucky for us we're sitting safely in our boat. and lucky for the polar bears this year's backwater has already been. the one to go keep nearby because they have very few thoughts. but i like the meat as. you know you make small pieces of meat and make it out of the food right before the fish polar bear goulash. our journey up the björk continues we've been traveling through this magical world advice for 2 days. but this isn't a family holiday even if it sometimes looks like an. 8 year old brian drives us to

our camp for the night at full speed. isn't met a word. or phrase when he was crying. because he's still sore to do but his father one theme tutor to drive early as possible and if you really should you know how to shoot him when he was 4 why. as often as they can they bring their children to the field to teach them how to survive here in the arctic how to feed themselves how to hunt and fish how to creep up on polar bears seals and musk ox and how to adapt to the ever changing world around them. but it's all right now before we can get the water here to the camp. so now we don't have more

snow on here. because it's warmer and we have a period. earlier so. the next morning we need to move fast a strong wind is coming up and that could prove dangerous so we need to leave we still have a 350 kilometer return trip ahead of us. and then we find ourselves stranded in the arctic. his brother uncle who has gone on ahead with. our biggest worry now is that something could happen to the boat they risk being destroyed by drift ice and without the boats there's no way to get back we have to turn around in an ice free bay we meet some hunters who are

also stuck we launch our drone to get a better overview of the situation a guy who in the other hunters examine our images it really doesn't look good there's their pack eyes all the way to the horizon. we're not going to get out of here so quickly. with the all we set up camp and post guards to watch out for polar bears all the all the hunters share their food with us metta cuts the norwell skin and blubber into small strips to make them easier to chew. you know what it's good to. see. if they. taste like joined up yeah. people say oh no. after being stuck here for 2 days things suddenly move very quickly the family has

made a decision to give up the mortgage tells us a call that will bring us back the 3 of us the children and one hunter in one boat . mehta and although i want the children to get back to the village it's growing too cold out here and the polar bears pose an ever present danger. they plan to follow us as soon as there's a clear path through the ice with. their boat is too big to haul over the ice. it's a tiring and perilous journey back. anyone who falls into the water here is unlikely to survive. the cold but.

it's hard for us to judge exactly how thick the ice really is. we drag our boat over the pack ice all the time we're afraid that the ice could crack or that someone could slip into the icy water. we make our way from ice floe to ice floe taking advantage of every little ice free passage to use the boat. we drag push and pull getting in and out of the boat for hours on end. this isn't normal for the middle of july. the new weather patterns are making life difficult for the in a with the knowledge they've acquired over many generations which helps them

predict weather conditions is becoming unreliable. you know. that for some reason. late that evening after hours crossing the ice we're finally in the clear. helicopter arrives to pick us up eric the local policeman has come to say goodbye and make sure we're ok nor walls are back in the day and after 2 nights on the ice

matter has also made it home. we leave itto for tony deeply moved by its people and its natural beauty. the path to the landing strip is still blocked by ice thanks. thanks. this is yellow knife canada at the military section of its airport. where traveling with the 2nd battalion of quebec's royal 22nd regiment a unit which supports canada's joy. task force north. it's been a long trip from ito we're told to meet almost a 1000 kilometers with stops in quebec and yellowknife before we reach cambridge bay in the canadian arctic. we're taking part in operation the knock knock

put its mission to patrol the northwest passage canadian territory that could hardly be more isolated. the 2 griffin military helicopters fly low taking advantage of the element of surprise. on. the helicopters head out over the water they have their sights set on a cargo ship and radio the freighter to identify itself the captain is surprised. he asks why the helicopter is there he never imagined that 2 military helicopters would suddenly appear in the middle of the night this amuses the pilots. the. the.

the freighter was properly registered but the message is clear anyone traveling through the northwest passage should expect to face questions. back at command central briefings are taking place reconnaissance patrols are to be transferred to observation posts in the northwest passage to monitor an area approximately the size of germany towards me. during this time of year. worst price so there's one more people traffic want to make sure. people on the ground and in the air here for us air support to the water and a lot of our time it's also from a ship that didn't save you comes the russian submarine yeah yeah it is difference between seeing a submarine or. fishing boat right so one of the 2 require different did they

require different. the base of their operations is known as camp main located at cambridge bay it's part of the joint canadian american north warning system during roughly 2000 people live in cambridge bay it's a kind of rough and tumble arctic front here town in the middle of nowhere that's kept alive with generous support from the canadian government. most of the people here live from hunting and fishing and government subsidies. fishing for arctic char as one of the few good paying jobs here. people can are in around 4000 euros for 2 weeks' work. but the fishing grounds are spread all over the northwest passage and are often only reachable by float plane. at the dock in cambridge bay we meet some fishermen i'm moving their catch we ask if they've

encountered vessels in the northwest passage that have no business being there. they heard stories of our elders out on a boat and they see some out in the distance thinking it's an island just submerged . yes yes not copper mining area. we know based on some site from other people that. come in canadian. arctic. but we know only one that it's been in the new so basically. i know that. the government. is trying to keep it low somehow not make a big deal out of that but. what i'm sure that they know a lot more than what they say thanks at an observation post we meet the commander of joint task force north brigadier general patrick carpentier say.

he's inspecting his troops who are conducting surveillance in this isolated region he explains how hard it is to maintain a presence throughout canada's north if you take that area of land it's about the size of the continental u.s. so in that area there's only 150000 people that are separated in about 72 different communities so so the challenges are communication transportation infrastructure. everything is a challenge in the north and that's not counting climate. his troops are always accompanied by a group. arctic rangers local you know it the work with the military. they play an important role. critical because it could be. the rangers. boys i think it's a lot of. the canadian armed forces only have around

$400.00 soldiers permanently stationed here in the north. so they couldn't do without the help of the arctic rangers and the local population. along with 2 arctic rangers and a reconnaissance patrol were being transferred to an outpost on a small uninhabited island. the pilots ask us if we get airsick we're told to be honest because lots of people start to feel queasy when the helicopter picks up speed. they fly low and fast. for more than an hour we travel over a rocky terrain as well as countless lakes. sometimes it feels like we could reach out and touch the ground.

we have to disembark quickly the pilots need to return to base. this is to be our camp for the next few days a couple of tents on a small island in the middle of the arctic there are no trees or bushes for protection we are fully exposed to the wind and weather which often changes from one minute to the next. night has fallen on slightly higher ground the 1st guards have taken up position using infrared devices and powerful binoculars they search for hot spots on the icy waters. these can even be detected from great distances away. that is where you see a submarine would it coming if it's up if it's if it's up really going to see it.

you know we don't know but i know there we have some specialists for some reason with us not here but at the other place but they don't show us that. the next morning this reconnaissance patrol is searching better arisan they've just spotted a foreign invader that. there's a grizzly bear here you know that it's right there and we saw you just came back to this wisdom there are. going to. start to see but this right there is you did leecher. who. actually knew. amy and allan load their guns. the canadian arctic is in a what territory the soldiers are guests here and an armed they don't want to be

viewed as an occupying force so they leave it up to the rangers to defend them. on the side are going to come true come true. 300 so what will you do that becomes so far away are you getting to uproot. you want to. but for now the bear is nowhere in sight. suddenly a dense fog moves in from the sea now it's wet and cold around 3 degrees celsius alan says it could take a week for the fog to lift it looks like we're once again trapped in the arctic this time on a small island with a grizzly bear. but when it floods they were completely bugged

most of that. 'd and that's really. tough. right so they were. a few days later the skies have cleared and the helicopters can fly the brigadier general comes for an inspection he and his staff have one burning question mark they're citing the i want all we have to see what it was like the right way to go there but of course it's not bears that pose the biggest challenge here they're merely a tactical problem. the strategic challenge is that the north is an extremely rich resources this new. little man city. so. to have a presence such a large territory. the arctic boasts a wealth of natural resources diamonds copper iron ore oil gas and fish. and now the ice is melting faster and the ground is thawing it's getting easier to

extract these treasures. they're in great demand and only those who maintain a presence here can protect their interests it's a huge undertaking in canada the 2nd largest country on earth and a herculean task up here in the far north at the end of the world. we continue our journey traveling almost 2000 kilometers westward to fairbanks alaska and from there another 800 kilometers to a dead horse by the beaufort sea. it's now early october and we're on the dalton highway. much of it is just a mix of mud and gravel it's been called one of the world's most dangerous roads. crossing the yukon river we had northwards in the arctic following the route of the

trans alaska pipeline. and crossing the mighty brooks range of 1000 kilometer long mountain range that runs right across northern alaska. halfway along the route we had cold put a little more than a gas station in the middle of the wilderness until the mid 1990 s. the dalton highway was closed to normal traffic anyone wanting to use it needed a special permit from the oil companies. now truck drivers tell us they're encountering more and more tourists most come here in the winter to see the northern lights but they often underestimate the risks it's beautiful as it is nice as it is it's not to me it's not worth it because it's it is very dangerous you know and specially come i'm prepared just think about it you might have to walk you know 10 miles in this weather i thought people up there they got there and just they're not that you know you know they have light jackets they have you know tennis shoes or and it's just not very smart it's jurists pretty much. 'd

we drive further into the mountains there's been a lot of snow fall in the last few days unusual for early october. we stop off in a wiseman a village that bloomed during the gold rush. everywhere you can see relics from the days when the dolphin highway and the trans alaska pipeline were being built in the arctic. just 14 people still live in weisman. where the freezers look like this and it's only october. here everything is pretty rustic. in his cabin jack recall office telling a group of chinese tourists about life in the wilderness sled how he shoots most and bears in order to survive. it's heavy caliber 8.6 millimeter does

this is where the bullet marks let one of. the boat hits the admiral open and shop right here oh right along and up when the all of those through the long the heart continues the blood to the long haul gnashing of the last. oh. but jack tells us the hunting's not as good as it used to be as we got out of jeff davis i travel a lot as a reminder a lot of big budget i looked at a lot of country but hardly anything in it. makes it hard to make sure what makes it hard jack came to wiseman in 1971 with his parents his father helped to build the doulton highway jack explains why there are practically no more moose up here in the woods now i have 3 deep snow here since 2000 for 1.4 major snow. the most especially when it melted on top and that froze there were aching to their

chance that putting themselves up on the on the edge of the snow sounds like it was thick crust like that. and it looks like this might be another bad year there's already too much snow for early october the air is too warm and too humid the moose population doesn't have enough time to recover if deep snows occur every 4 or 5 years as they have in the last 2 decades. jack shows the chinese tourists some mighty moose and there's a popular photo on t.v. . we asked these visitors what brought them here to the far north trying these people become a researcher on the greater i know and that they want to see the whole side of his award. for us the best but i never seen before i've never seen so far i hope hopefully i can see our us at night. as they attempt to drive away we hope they'll

get to see the northern lights tonight. the conditions are favorable. the night sky is clear and full of stars. suddenly the heavenly light show commences gradually becoming more and more spectacular. and the next morning we continue our northward journey towards the arctic ocean following the trans alaska pipeline. the road is icy for hours we find our way

across the brooks range which separates central alaska from the north slope region . at the northern foot of the brooks range lies the 2 like field station scientists from around the world come here to research the changes in the arctic jed tim manages the station he says they now have mosquitoes and snakes that conserve the winter here that's something new there's no denying climate change is real it's hard to argue with. that i. i'm kind of in a weird spot because i you know i'm surrounded by science i grew up around science but i'm also a little bit of a redneck you know i like to play in snow machines but it's hard to argue with you know with the research that i see in the glaciers that i see these disappearing firsthand. you know just how much warmer our seasons are it's pretty obvious jeb says it's one thing that it's getting warmer but one will

happen as a result of this will be the really big problem there's enough permafrost up here that if that fix or if it's later that layer that 2030 meter layer melts. the whole north slope is going to drop about 30 feet or 10 meters high for he says it hasn't gotten to that yet but things are getting critical he also stresses that he's no expert he suggests we talked of lattimer romanov's one of the world's foremost permafrost researchers bowman hosking who advises governments and companies says the situation is quite clear. already i have 35 years of measurements and during this period of time we started to as permafrost temperature about minus 8 mo it's minus 4 on the north slope of alaska. from 20132014 we have new really strong wave of warming where whole sites in interior show very substantial

warming. should this continue it could also have serious consequences for energy supplies around the globe as more and more of the world's oil and gas supplies come from the arctic. in the many areas distribution of prices vary on the vendor some big chunks of a few almost fewer eyes there and when this chunks are melting then surface of size developing very very uneven surfaces and there's many occasions already exist where this subsidence will reduce the. structure infrastructure. heading north the trans alaska pipeline leads us out of the mountains and across the frozen arctic tundra a region of stunning natural beauty. then

we pull into a dead horse and the contrast couldn't be greater it's one big money mess and much warmer and further south. the dalton highway ends and dead horse at its only stop the general store terry underhill is one of the few women in deadhorse she runs the store and like everyone here comes from the south she flies into work for 2 weeks and has 2 weeks off that's the rhythm of life here she tells us she's a big fan of donald trump like everyone here. we ask why obama made it so you can

drill up sure which killed us and he out lot a lot of stuff he put a lot of regulations on everything which made it to where they couldn't do anything and then went truck carolina lifted all the regulations and let us drill offshore again everything started opening up again so it was almost over it was like a ghost town. but now dead horse has been brought back to life and work has returned. the workers camps are fully booked. the huge containers stand on stilts like everything here that's built on or in the permafrost. because the land here lies just above sea level and in summer the upper layers of permafrost keep melting more and more gravel is spread to stabilize the ground. the question is how long will all this hold. all this infrastructure built to. extract material which will be.

very warm. through 2 flowing of roast and we'll make more and more problems for the infrastructure and its design build to extract this is goods so that's kind of irony here. we board a private plane for supplies to get a better overview of the situation the oil companies won't let us film their operations even though we did produce them weeks ago over hundreds of kilometers huge plants come into view built into the slowly warming permafrost all connected by the pipeline which runs through this swampy landscape. even offshore in the middle of the arctic ocean there are drilling platforms. our pilot tells us normally there'd be ice here. but he says this year things have changed.

and like all the money i feel like my government feels that they might or. might not. let me leave. a major new. day and that i get out very unusual that my dear that i have not you know your lover. bob says it keeps getting warmer here. we wonder if the instability of the ground isn't already causing problems. already on the infrastructure in your fields. yes but it's it is not official information. and they ask us not to talk. but yes yes they have problems and that's why i made to this selling face selling piece. b.p.

has come from more so. oil giant b.p. is withdrawing from alaska entirely even though more and more oil fields are being discovered and opened up for drilling our journey around the arctic circle ends here in the alaskan oil fields for some there the promise of a brighter future for others they're part of the problem. we've traveled thousands of kilometers through this immense isolated region a world that's warming more quickly than any other on earth. a world that will determine the future of humanity. the huge demand for raw materials and climate change are making life more unpredictable by the day. should the permafrost and ice crust disappear our world will be a different one. and the knowledge acquired here over the generations is already

losing its significance here in the arctic. place. oh the. place. dortmund's new superstar stephon to the stage. hardly any of us want has this much talent up its sleeve but does this new generation have what it takes to make a full plate for a year of success to see it moves. to go. in 30 minutes on d w. every.

mr censuring for a trick monarch. has some. secrets because. 75 minutes t.w. . immigrants. the police will stop. the solution and their flight could be fatal but going back is not an option. it's money i'm on and they are stuck in the spanish border area they're there waiting for a chance that will probably never. shattered dreams starts january 18th on t.w.

. this is the w. news coming to you live from berlin killed for doing their job dozens of journalists around the world died this year working to expose corruption organized crime and environmental degradation we'll speak to an advocacy group that says targeted killings for all the drugs also coming up south africa reimpose is a bet on alcohol sales and orders the closure of old.