Norilsk
Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia · 69.35°, 88.20° · Air pollution
An Arctic nickel-smelting city so polluted that dead forest surrounds it, and a 2020 fuel spill turned its river red.
Norilsk, built by Gulag prisoners above the Arctic Circle, hosts some of the world's largest nickel, copper and palladium smelters. For decades it was the single largest source of sulphur dioxide pollution anywhere, killing forest for tens of kilometres downwind; the closure of the old nickel plant in 2016 cut emissions. In May 2020 a collapsing fuel tank released about 21,000 tonnes of diesel into the Ambarnaya River, one of the Arctic's worst spills.
In the game
Norilsk flares up as Toxic air. The fix is a gesture: tap when the ring hits the green zone. Done right, it becomes Air cleared 🌤️. Finish all three steps of its chain in one round for a combo, or take your time in Explore mode: a place you fully restore stays green on your map for good.
🧭 Fly there and restore it▶ Play a 60-second round