FMI: Lapland records longest heatwave in Finland’s history

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				FMI: Lapland records longest heatwave in Finland’s history

People enjoy the warm weather at the Ounaskoski Beach at the Arctic CircLe in Rovaniemi, Finnish Lapland on 23rd July, 2025. Photo: Jouni Porsanger / Lehtikuva

Finland experienced one of its hottest Julys on record, with Finnish Lapland facing an unprecedented heatwave that lasted nearly four weeks, according to the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI).

FMI researcher Mika Rantanen said the data marked a historic first for Lapland. In Ylitornio, temperatures exceeded 27 degrees Celsius on 26 consecutive days, the longest stretch of hot weather ever recorded in the region.

“Nothing like it has ever been previously recorded in Finnish Lapland,” Rantanen said in an FMI release.

Elsewhere in Finland, July temperatures also reached record highs. At least one weather station recorded temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius for 22 days in a row, between 12 July and 2 August. The previous national record was set in 1972, when temperatures remained above 30 degrees for 13 straight days.

The FMI reported that conditions were “unusually warm” across the entire country and classified temperatures in central Finland as “exceptionally hot.”

The figures mirror trends across Europe and globally. The Copernicus Climate Change Service reported that the global average temperature in July reached 16.68 degrees Celsius. That is 0.45 degrees above the 1991–2020 average and 1.25 degrees warmer than pre-industrial levels.

In Europe, the average temperature in July was 21.12 degrees Celsius, which is 1.3 degrees higher than the same reference period. It was the fourth warmest July on record for the continent.

Southern and southeastern Europe experienced severe heat. Turkey registered a new national record on 30 July, when temperatures peaked at 50.5 degrees Celsius.

FMI data confirmed that the northern heatwave, affecting parts of Finland, Sweden, and Norway, was part of a broader regional pattern driven by larger global climate trends. The northern regions made headlines for experiencing temperatures far above seasonal norms.

Studies continue to show that Finland is warming at more than double the global rate. According to the World Meteorological Organisation, the global average temperature last year surpassed the 1.5 degree Celsius threshold. In Finland, average temperatures have risen by 3.4 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

HT

Source: www.helsinkitimes.fi

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