Exceptionally warm weather in Finland’s arctic region
September has been warmer at Utsjoki in Finland’s far north than an average July, but cooler temperatures are on the way.
Temperature records continued to be broken this week in Utsjoki, Finland’s northernmost municipality. A record autumn temperature was set at Utsjoki’s Kevo measuring station on Thursday afternoon, when the mercury climbed to 21.3 degrees Celsius.
According to the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI), Thursday marked the latest date this autumn that the temperature topped 20 degrees in central and northern Lapland since the beginning of official record keeping in the 1960s.
The mercury rose even higher on Thursday in southern Lapland. At Pello, around 30 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle, the day’s high reading of 22.2 degrees Celsius was Thursday’s highest recorded temperature in the whole of Finland.
The FMI is forecasting cooler conditions over the coming weekend however, with temperatures unlikely to exceed 20 degrees Celsius anywhere in the country.
Otso Suominen, director of the University of Turku’s Kevo Research Station, says that this year has been a record year in Utsjoki regarding temperatures in all respects.
A whole series of temperature records have been broken in Lapland, including the number of hot days experienced in the region.
“The average temperature for the first 10 days of September was higher than the normal average for July,” Suominen said.
He added that low rainfall is, however, a bigger problem than heat. For example, the water level of Lake Kevojärvi is lower than at any time of the year since measurements began in 1962.
Related stories from around the North:
Arctic: Warming climate changing CO2 balance in northern ecosystems: study, Eye on the Arctic
Canada: Makivvik launches climate adaptation strategy for Nunavik, Eye on the Arctic
Greenland: Alarming, above-average ice loss in Greenland due to rising temperatures, Eye on the Arctic
Finland: Experts urge policy overhaul to address climate tipping point risks, Eye on the Arctic
Norway: Polar heat record. July average above 10°C, The Independent Barents Observer
Sweden: Another year of shrinking glaciers predicted in Sweden’s Far North, CBC News
United States: Bursting ice dam in Alaska highlights risks of glacial flooding around the globe, The Associated Press
