Why is Russia's Norilsk called Earth's 'most depressing city'? Know reason behind its extreme pollution

The most northerly city in the world – the Russian mining town of Norilsk is so remote that it can’t be reached by road. Labelled as ‘the most depressing on Earth’, this city is so polluted that life expectancy here is ten years less than the national average in Russia.

Nevertheless, Norilsk houses over 1,70,000 people who live in the small city in the Krasnoyarsk Krai region of Siberia, eastern Russia.

The remote city is under 1,800 miles from Moscow. Only one freight line runs to and from the city. Even the port city of Dudinka which provides a sea route to the city remains frozen over the winter.

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The only way to reach this city is to fly, but even that is rough as it is in a far-flung corner of Russia. Visitors have to take a five-hour-long flight to Moscow and are then greeted

Norilsk only got a proper internet connection in 2017 — until then this city about the size of Ipswich relied on a dodgy satellite link.

The only year-round route to this far-flung corner of Russia, therefore, is to fly, although even that isn’t easy.

After a more than five-hour flight from Moscow, visitors find themselves at an unpleasant spot made on the site of a Soviet prison camp.

The city stands upon the biggest nickel-copper-palladium deposits on Earth. As per geologists, rich deposits of nickel, copper and cobalt are found at the foot of the Putorana Mountains. According to research, the USSR started building a huge extraction complex in these mountains with the help of 5,00,000 forced labourers. They toiled themselves for nearly 20 years to work under extreme conditions.

Out of these, 18,000 workers died due to a poor environment.

Most of the people in this city are employed by Norilsk Nickel, but the job opportunity bears heavy costs. The nickel plant releases over two million tons of toxic gases, including nitrogen oxides, carbon, and sulphur dioxide among others. Due to this, Norilsk has become the most polluted city in Russia.

It is also one of the top-ten most polluted cities on our planet.

Acidic rain in the region often kills surrounding trees and impacts the lives of city residents. The life expectancy of a Norilsk resident is just 59 years old as compared to the Russian average of 69 years.

If the pollution wasn’t enough reason for people to avoid this city, its desolate location makes it one of the world’s most depressing cities too. This is also because the region witnesses 45-days of consistent darkness every year and remain covered in snow for about two-thirds of the year.

Despite challenges, people continue to live here because the workers at Norilsk Nickel earn over $986 a month, which is much higher than Russia’s average which stands at $739.

The company contributes two per cent of Russia’s entire GDP and hence authorities don’t step in to ensure common welfare. While the company claims to be working on pollution control, there is a lot that needs to be done.