They may not fly around the world delivering presents, but Rudolph and his fellow reindeer may be busy affecting their local climate
IT USED to happen like clockwork. Every spring, the reindeer herders of Scandinavia would guide their animals northwards from the tree line of the polar circle's southern edge, across the wide, flat expanse of tundra, to the shores of the Arctic Ocean. Its salty spray, rich in nutrients, fertilises coastal pastures that are perfect for fattening up the young calves. Every autumn the herders would make their way back inland.
Now the rhythm of the seasons is being thrown into disarray. "It's as if everything has been re-geared," is how one herder described the difference in 2011. "By the first Sunday in Advent, it was always winter... But now the snow doesn't arrive until Christmas, it doesn't go cold, and it sleets and it rains." Rivers that ...
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