This May the British Museum opens a major exhibition detailing the history of the Arctic and its indigenous peoples, through the lens of climate change and weather.

The Arctic’s been home to communities for nearly 30,000 years, cultures that have lived with the challenges of one of the planet’s most dynamic environments. Today climate change is transforming the Arctic at the fastest rate in human history.

The exhibition – Arctic: Culture and Climate – comprises a large and diverse circumpolar collection. From rare, 28,000-year old archaeological finds excavated from the thawing ground in Siberia, to unique tools and clothing adapted for survival, they reflect the extraordinary relationship between Arctic people and their world.

The Arctic Circle is home to four million people including 400,000 indigenous peoples belonging to one or more of 40 different ethnic groups with distinct languages and dialects. Scientists predict the region will be ice-free in 80 years, bringing profound change not only to the people who live there but also to all of humanity.

Objects from across the circumpolar region include an Inughuit sled made from narwhal and caribou bone and pieces of driftwood. It was traded to Sir John Ross on his 1818 expedition, marking the first encounter between Inughuit and Europeans. Also featured are an eight-piece Igloolik winter costume made of caribou fur and a delicate household bag from western Alaska, crafted from tanned salmon skin.