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by epall 1549 days ago
No mention of permafrost? Yes, the _air_ will be more habitable, but if the _ground_ is a boggy mess, you’re not going to be doing much with this newly habitable land.
2 comments

There were also no occurrences of the words "sun", "light", or "insolation".

The further away from the equator you go, the more your sunlight becomes a fickle seasonal creature hitting you at odd angles in varying intensity. Temperature isn't the only variable affecting the growing season and agricultural productivity.

Is there a way to detect permafrost and remove it using available tech?
Detect it: poke a stick. It stops, at a pretty consistent depth, and not because of rock.

Remove it: overheat the planet. It will turn to mud. Anything built on it will subside or sink. Massive amounts of trapped organic matter will turn to methane.

Eventually, I presume the area would settle into a new climatic zone, with neither permafrost nor mud. Emphasis on "eventually".

Thank you for reminding me that I’m on Hacker News.
11% of the planet's surface has permafrost. Good luck.