Members of the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, passed the third, and final, version of a bill on creating a state-run permafrost-monitoring network.

The project’s first stage is to commence later this year, and the second one is scheduled for 2024-2025.

“There are plans to amend Russian legislation and to set up a state-run permafrost-monitoring network under the auspices of the Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring,” an explanatory note to the bill reads, in part.

In November 2022, the Government submitted the document to the State Duma, with the deputies approving its first version in January 2023, followed by the second reading on June 27.

According to the bill’s authors, permafrost-monitoring projects are essential for evaluating the state of permafrost and predicting its dynamics.