A new warning from the Frontiers 2025 Report has raised fresh concerns about emerging environmental threats tied to climate change, including the reactivation of ancient microbes, the resurgence of long-banned toxic chemicals, and the increasing danger of ageing dams.

Beyond the heightened risks to elderly populations, the report highlights a chilling possibility: the awakening of dormant fungi, bacteria, and viruses trapped in frozen environments. If global temperatures rise more than 2°C above pre-industrial levels, the Earth’s cryosphere — which includes glaciers, ice sheets, sea ice, and permafrost — will suffer significant mass loss. This could potentially expose ancient microbes, increasing the risk of antimicrobial resistance.

The cryosphere currently supports 670 million people directly, and billions more indirectly, through its role in supplying freshwater. To slow its decline, the report calls for urgent reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, including black carbon from diesel engines, agricultural burning, and wildfires. It also urges a limitation on tourism in fragile frozen areas and a boost in scientific research into the cryosphere’s unique microbial biodiversity, much of which may not survive ongoing changes.

Resurfacing of Banned Chemicals Due to Flooding

The report further identifies the resurfacing of hazardous chemicals—banned and phased out decades ago—as a growing danger. These substances, long trapped in sediment, can be released during floods, re-entering urban areas and food systems.

As floodwaters stir up contaminated sediment and debris, toxic chemicals can migrate back into the environment, threatening ecosystems and public health. The report recommends a suite of responses, including traditional flood control measures like dikes and retention basins, improved drainage systems, nature-based solutions such as sponge-city designs, regular pollution monitoring, and economic assessments of long-term damage.

Ageing Dams Pose Growing Safety Risks

Another emerging threat identified in the report is the increasing risk posed by ageing dams. While dams provide essential water storage, power generation, and flood control, their continued operation may become unsafe or economically unviable over time.

The report notes that regions such as Europe and North America are increasingly removing older, large-scale dams that have outlived their usefulness. The removal of such barriers, it argues, offers environmental benefits by restoring natural river flows, improving biodiversity, and supporting the UN’s ecosystem restoration goals.

In conclusion, the Frontiers 2025 Report calls for decisive global action across science, policy, and infrastructure to confront these layered threats—before their consequences become irreversible.