Flash Briefing #5: Why Svalbard Stopped Cemetery Burials in 1950

In Longyearbyen on Norway’s Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, deep permafrost prevents buried bodies from decomposing and preserved intact 1918 influenza RNA.

While new coffin burials have been prohibited since 1950, that same natural freezer safely protects 1.2 million crop varieties inside the Global Seed Vault.

Verified Source: Norwegian Polar Institute and Svalbard Global Seed Vault.