Person in kayak paddles on Lake Kesänki in Äkäslompolo, Kolari, in the Finnish Lapland. Photo: Aku Häyrynen / Lehtikuva
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Last summer in Finnish Lapland was the warmest on record, the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) confirmed.
Between June and August 2024, the average temperature at the Tähtelä weather station in Sodankylä reached 15.9 degrees Celsius. This broke the previous record, set in 1937, by 0.4 degrees.
In Utsjoki, Finland’s northernmost municipality, there were 25 hot days when maximum temperatures exceeded 25 degrees.
Prolonged heat contributed to numerous forest fires across Lapland.
A new study, published in the journal Climate & Atmospheric Science on Saturday, suggests that last summer was not only the hottest in recorded history but also likely the warmest in the last 2,000 years.
Researchers reconstructed the summer mean temperatures in northern Fennoscandia by analysing pine tree rings.
“The annual tree growth rings are dated to the nearest year and correlate strongly with measured June-August temperatures,” said Samuli Helama, one of the authors of the study.
The study indicates that the contemporary heat extremes in Lapland are a direct consequence of climate change. The data reveal an unprecedented rise when compared to past centuries.
Earlier this year, the Finnish Meteorological Institute reported that the climate in the Nordic region is warming significantly faster than the global average.
Nationwide, Finland’s average temperature in 2024 was 3.4 degrees higher than in the pre-industrial era, making it the fourth warmest year ever recorded.
HT
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Source: www.helsinkitimes.fi
