Unusually warm summer for Finland
The summer in Finland so far has been the warmest in 23 years, reports Finland’s Metrological Institute. The average temperature since the start of June has been around 2.5 degrees Celsius above the long-term norm.
Above normal temperatures this year began being registered as early as in April. The month of May was also warmer than usual.
Compared to last year June-July so far has also been slightly warmer. The nationwide average round-the-clock temperature in 2010 was 14.9 degrees. This year is running at 16.3.
On the other hand, last summer the thermometer topped 35 degrees on several days. So far this year the mercury has not climbed that high.
More stormy days
In addition to warmer weather, the Metrological Institute registered an exceptionally high number of lightning strikes during the early part of the summer. There have been seven days this year during which the number of lightning strikes exceeded 10,000. The average is only one day a year with so much lightning. Some years, there are none.
Last Saturday, the Metrological Institute registered 16,000 lightning strikes.
In 2010 there were three days when storms brought over 10,000 strikes. On the 8th of August, there were 24,000.
Warmer temperatures and more electrical storms for one or two summers cannot be attributed to climate change. However, climate change may be a contributing factor.
