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Winter: Minus 40 degrees – Europe’s far north is shivering

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Minus 40 degrees – Europe’s far north is shivering

Walking with a dog coat and snowshoes in freezing weather in Helsinki. photo

© Jussi Nukari/Lehtikuva/dpa

It’s really cold in Sweden and Finland: A high pressure area is causing unusually low temperatures in Northern Europe.

The far north Europe started the new year with freezing temperatures. In northern Sweden, temperatures below minus 40 degrees Celsius were measured for the first time since the end of 2021, as the Swedish Meteorological Institute SMHI announced. In some places, such as Umeå, it was colder than it had been in twelve years.

Due to safety risks caused by the cold, all passenger train connections north of Umeå have been suspended until Thursday, according to broadcaster SVT.

According to the institute, there is currently a high pressure area with extremely cold air over northeast Sweden and northern Finland. In Nikkaluokta near Kiruna, minus 41.6 degrees was recorded. However, the Swedish cold record for this century is even lower: in February 2001, a whopping minus 44.0 degrees was measured in Storbo.

Meteorologists in neighboring Finland also recorded temperatures well into double digits below zero: It was freezing cold throughout the country, with temperatures generally between minus 20 and minus 30 degrees, the Ilmatieteen Laitos institute there wrote on its website on Tuesday. In the central and northern parts of the country, the cold could reach minus 40 degrees in the next few days.