Latest news with #VilleSiiskonen
Time of India
4 days ago
- Climate
- Time of India
Finland breaks 50-year heat record with 14 days over 30C
People enjoy the warm weather at the Ounaskoski Beach in Rovaniemi, Finnish Lapland. (Pic credit: AP) Helsinki: Finland has broken an over 50-year-old weather record as the country is witnessing the longest period of temperatures above 30C, the Finnish Meteorological Institute said on Friday. As Parikkala in eastern Finland hit 30.3 Celsius before midday, this meant that temperatures have now soared to 30C in parts of the country 14 days in a row, breaking previous record of 13 consecutive days from June and July 1972. "This is the longest period of consecutive days with temperatures exceeding 30C since records began in 1961," the institute wrote on X. The Nordic country is in the midst of a period of warm weather that the institute has described as "exceptionally long" in places. Meteorologist Ville Siiskonen at the Meteorological Institute said: "Periods of warm weather will be longer and there can be more of them."
Telegraph
4 days ago
- Climate
- Telegraph
Santa Claus village is melting in heatwave
The official home town of Father Christmas has been hit with a record-breaking heatwave, stoking fears that wildfires that have swept across Lapland will become more frequent. The Arctic city of Rovaniemi in northern Finland – usually associated with snow and the winter holidays – has been melting in the hot weather. Temperatures in Lapland, a region that crowns the tip of Norway and where it snows for seven months a year, have been hitting highs of 31C, more than 10C higher than the seasonal average. Ville Siiskonen, of the Finnish Meteorological Institute, said that while temperatures above 30C were unusual – 'a once in 10-year event' – the length of the heatwave was exceptional. 'For 15 consecutive days, the daily maximum temperature has exceeded 25C. This is the longest since records began in the early 1960s,' he told The Telegraph. The previous record was set in 1972 when a heatwave lasted 14 days. The extreme heat is expected to last till early next week. The highest temperature of the heatwave, 31.7C, was recorded at two locations, Ylitornio and Sodankylä, earlier this week. However, the hot weather has led to renewed concern over the fast pace of climate change in the Arctic, which is warming up to five times faster than the global average, according to the UN's intergovernmental panel on climate change. 'Due to climate change, these sorts of heatwaves in Lapland are expected to become longer and more intensive over this century,' Mr Siiskonen said. Emergency services have also been dealing with several dozen fast-spreading wildfires in the wilderness further north of Rovaniemi this week. Due to the size and remoteness of Lapland, fires often burn for long stretches before firefighters can arrive on the scene. Finnish authorities have warned the population that the risk of wildfires remains high. In Rovaniemi, schools and nurseries have cancelled some outdoor activities, authorities have told residents to check on their elderly neighbours and health officials are warning people of the need to stay hydrated. Despite the limited chaos, Sanna Kärkkäinen, managing director of Visit Rovaniemi, said that the heat has not affected the city's most popular tourist destination. 'The weather has certainly surprised locals and tourists,' she told The Telegraph, but the Santa Claus Village, where visitors can meet the man himself, 'remains open seven days a week'. Lapland's reindeer, with their thick coats, are suffering in the heat and are also being attacked by mosquitoes. The animals, which mostly roam freely, have been trying to move to higher ground or travel into villages or to the beach in search of relief. Toivo Koivu, a resident of Rovaniemi who has just finished travelling through southern Europe, said he was shocked to return to such heat. 'We thought that when we would come back to Finland it would be cooler, like normally, but no, it was the same weather as down south,' Mr Koivu told Reuters. It comes as other parts of Europe this summer have been gripped with heatwaves and wildfires. In June – which was the hottest June on record globally – authorities in Spain, Portugal, Greece and France were forced to issue extreme heat warnings as temperatures went above 42C.
NDTV
4 days ago
- Climate
- NDTV
Finland Breaks 50-Year Record With 14 Straight Days Over 30 Degrees Celsius
Finland: Finland has broken an over 50-year-old weather record as the country is witnessing the longest period of temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius, the Finnish Meteorological Institute said on Friday. As Parikkala in eastern Finland hit 30.3 degrees Celsius before midday, this meant that temperatures have now soared to 30 degrees Celsius in parts of the country for 14 days in a row, breaking the previous record of 13 consecutive days from June and July 1972. "This is the longest period of consecutive days with temperatures exceeding 30 degrees Celsius since records began in 1961," the institute wrote on X. (Translated) Parikkala Koitsanlahden klo 11.00-12.00 välinen maksimilämpötila oli 30,3 °C, tehden tästä päivästä 14. peräkkäisen päivän, jolloin yli 30,0 °C on mitattu jossain päin Suomea. Tämä on pisin peräkkäisten 30 asteen ylitysten päivien jakso vuodesta 1961 alkaen olevissa tilastoissa. — Ilmatieteen laitos (@meteorologit) July 25, 2025 The Nordic country is currently in the midst of a period of warm weather that the institute has described as "exceptionally long" in places. Meteorologist Ville Siiskonen at the Meteorological Institute told AFP that global warming in general means that such bouts of warm weather will be more frequent in the future, but the current record period cannot be attributed to climate change without further study. "Periods of warm weather will be longer and there can be more of them," he said. The record comes a year after the Lapland region of northern Finland, Norway, and Sweden saw its warmest summer in 2,000 years in 2024, with climate change increasing the likelihood of such exceptionally warm summers by around a hundred times.
RTÉ News
4 days ago
- Climate
- RTÉ News
Finland sees longest period of temperatures above 30C
Finland has broken an over 50-year-old weather record as the country is witnessing the longest period of temperatures above 30C, the Finnish Meteorological Institute has said. As Parikkala in eastern Finland hit 30.3C before midday, this meant that temperatures have now soared to 30C in parts of the country 14 days in a row, breaking the previous record of 13 consecutive days from June and July 1972. "This is the longest period of consecutive days with temperatures exceeding 30C since records began in 1961," the institute wrote on X. The Nordic country is currently in the midst of a period of warm weather that the institute has described as "exceptionally long" in places. Meteorologist Ville Siiskonen at the Meteorological Institute said that global warming in general means that such bouts of warm weather will be more frequent in the future, but the current record period cannot be attributed to climate change without further study. "Periods of warm weather will be longer and there can be more of them," he said. The record comes a year after the Lapland region of northern Finland, Norway and Sweden saw its warmest summer in 2,000 years in 2024, with climate change increasing the likelihood of such exceptionally warm summers by around a hundred times.
