Fly above the North Pole and most of the time, you will see absolutely nothing. What's striking about the pole is not the cold, Siberia or Canada can be just as cold, but the darkness, permanent in winter and overwhelming the rest of the year except of course during the very short summer.
Nordic countries are only slightly easier to live in with long, dark winters, seeing sunrise at 11 am and sunset a 1 pm. Walking in a blizzard to go shopping, you check twice your shopping list in your pocket. Forgetting anything would be a tragedy. Once back home, having to go out again in the dark, with snow striking your face, sliding on the icy ground sounds like punishment, which by all measurements it is. And still, the Great North is the future.
Or at least the future of trade. With the Strait of Malacca, Strait of Hormuz and Strait of Bab el Mandeb all under threat or under American "supervision", having options is more and more the better choice. And after almost 10 years of preparation, for the first time a regular route between Asia and Europe was opened by China along Russia's northern coast in 2026. It is a seasonal route, closed in winter due to the drifting ice shelf, and uncertain at other times due to icebergs and polar storms. Still, when open, it is a faster, shorter, cheaper, more secure route from Asia to Europe.
The superb documentary below offers a complete overview of the issue:
China just opened a trade route America can't control
