Studies have indicated that Finland’s climate is warming significantly faster than the global average.
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The duration of the heatwave in Finnish Lapland was unprecedented, according to the FMI’s data. Image: Jouni Porsanger / Lehtikuva
The month of July was “exceptionally warm” this year in Finland and neighbouring countries, according to the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI).
Globally, last month was the third warmest July ever recorded.
According to the Copernicus Climate Change Service, the global average temperature in July was 16.68 degrees Celsius — which is 0.45 degrees higher than the average for July from 1991 to 2020 and 1.25 degrees Celsius higher than in pre-industrial times.
In Europe, according to the data, July was the fourth warmest on record as the average temperature rose to 21.12 degrees Celsius, 1.3 degrees above the reference period average.
The heatwave was especially stifling in the southeastern parts of Europe, with Turkey setting a new national heat record when the mercury soared to 50.5 degrees Celsius at the end of July.
Heatwave scorches Finnish Lapland
The effect of the Europe-wide heatwave on the northern regions of Finland, Sweden and Norway made global headlines.
FMI researcher Mika Rantanen noted that the duration of the heatwave was unprecedented for the region — nothing like it has ever been previously recorded in Finnish Lapland.
“Hot weather [a measurement above 27 degrees Celsius] was registered in Ylitornio continuously for 26 days, which is the longest heat wave in Lapland in the history of measurements,” Rantanen wrote in a FMI press release.
July was unusually warm across much of Finland, the FMI further noted, and even exceptionally hot in central parts of the country.
Finland also saw a new heatwave record last month, as a weather station somewhere in the country recorded a temperature of over 30 degrees Celsius for 22 straight days — from 12 July to 2 August. The previous record was set in 1972, when the mercury climbed above 30 degrees on 13 consecutive days.
Previous studies have indicated that Finland’s climate is warming significantly faster than the global average.
Last year, the increase in the average global temperature exceeded the critical threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius, according to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), while in Finland, the readings were 3.4 degrees warmer than pre-industrial levels.