Ittoqqortoormit

A remote settlement

We cruised along Scorosby Sund which is the largest and longest fjord system in the world. It was impressive scenery with ice-clad peaks up to 2000 metres and huge floating icebergs. Located at 70 degrees north within the Arctic circle, the east Greenland town of Ittoqqortoormit, is one of the world’s most remote settlements being over 500 miles from the nearest town. There are 345 local inhabitants of which 68 are children. Hunting and fishing are the only means of survival – they survive on polar bears, seals, Arctic foxes, whales and walruses. A ship comes twice a year to replenish vital supplies, including food. The fjord is frozen for 9 months of the year so they are able to travel to the other side of the fjord for hunting. During early spring when the ice is still thick and the sun high in the sky, many local people go on dog sledding and snowmobile trips. We visited the local Dutch National Evangelical Lutheran church. In 1993 Greenland became an independent Government administered by its own bishop. There is also a very small gift shop and a post office. We watched an Inuit feed his team of 12 dogs and walked to the cemetery.

Borg-Vik

We sailed across the Scoresby Fjord to Borg-Vik where we had a zodiac cruise and witnessed a huge piece of ice falling off the glacier, a process known as calving.

Scoresbysund

The former name Scoresbysund derives from the English Arctic explorer and whaler William Scoresby, who was the first European to map the area in 1822. (You may recognise the name as a character in the series ‘His Dark Materials’. The name "Ittoqqortoormiit" means "Big-House Dwellers" in the Eastern Greenlandic dialect. The village was founded in 1925 by Danish explorer Ejnar Mikkelsen and approximately 80 Inuit it is still largely inhabited by hunters who survive on polar bears, seals, Arctic foxes, whales and walruses.

Weather

The Ittoqqortoormit weather station sends a weather balloon up twice a day to measure temperature, wind speed and direction. This provides forecast weather patterns to Europe. Over the last two years, the ice has broken up in the spring much earlier than normal. In February 2023 it was 10.5 °C warmer than normal.” (-6 °C rather than -17 °C) In recent years, massive fluctuations in climate mean the sea ice is freezing later and melting earlier, spelling disaster for this indigenous community and its culture. Ittoqqortoormiit is on the front line of climate change. People who were once hunters, like their forefathers, now struggle to find alternative work. Young people are forced to leave their home to find further education and jobs. There are problems with alcohol and resulting violence and suicide is high. This is a community that is melting away. Declining sea ice in the region as a result of climate change means polar bears have changed their migration route, bringing them closer to Ittoqqortoormiit posing a real threat to people.