Nikolay Korchunov, a senior Russian diplomat who chairs the Arctic Council, said Monday that there is a risk of microbes trapped in the frost for tens of thousands of years ‘waking up’ as the ground thaws due to global warming.

Korchunov said the Council has now established a ‘biosafety’ project to study the risks and possible effects posed by the reemergence of diseases which may have been frozen since at least the last ice age.

Speaking to TV channel Zvezda on Monday, he said: ‘There is a risk of old viruses and bacteria waking up.

‘Because of this, Russia has initiated a ‘biosafety’ project within the Arctic Council,’ he added.