Status: 07/07/2021 8:56 a.m.
In fact, the far north of Finland is not known for heat waves. But at the moment the Lapland region is making the headlines: The temperatures have not been as high as they are now for more than 100 years.
33.6 degrees Celsius: Finnish meteorologists have not measured such a high temperature in Lapland for more than 100 years, but now in Utsjoki-Kevo near the border with Norway. A heat wave has the entire region under control.
Jari Tuovinen from the Finnish Meteorological Institute told the public broadcaster YLE that temperatures of over 32 degrees were unusual in Lapland. The reason is a high pressure area east of Finland, which brings more warm air from Siberia. June was the hottest month nationwide since weather records began in 1844.
Heat also in Norway and Sweden
For the first time in history, a higher temperature was measured in Lapland: In July 1914, it was 34.7 degrees Celsius in the Inari Thule area. The region, which is popular with nature lovers, is actually better known for its low temperatures.
It is also unusually warm in the north of Sweden and Norway at the moment. There is a heat wave when the maximum temperature averages at least 28 degrees on three consecutive days. In the municipality of Porsanger in the northernmost Norwegian province of Troms and Finnmark, 34.3 degrees Celsius were measured – a record value. In several places in Norway there have recently been “tropical nights” when the temperature did not drop below 20 degrees.
Arctic region is getting warmer
Canada had already set a heat record last week, with temperatures of almost 50 degrees in the shade. According to a report released in May, global warming in the Arctic is currently three times faster than the rest of the planet. The increase is even faster than previously assumed, and there is no end in sight.