Sami reindeer herders apply for emergency aid as climate crisis bites

"There is just one explanation and that's climate change," Jan Rannerud, chair of the Sami Parliament's reindeer husbandry committee, told SVT Nyheter Sápmi.

Normally in northern Sweden, it would snow, then stay cold, which would keep the snow soft and allow reindeer to dig through it.

But the mild winter, with alternating snow, thaw and rain, has created deep ground frost and the impenetrable ice which makes it very hard for the reindeer to get to the natural food they normally eat, such as lichen.

This means that reindeer owners have to actively provide food for their animals, which is expensive and lets the Sami communities apply for emergency funding from the Sami Parliament.

Last year 26 communities applied for such assistance, but the problems have been recurring for several years due to the climate crisis. Last time the situation was as bad as it is now was in 2001, when the Swedish government had to earmark additional emergency funding.