Finland hits record heatwave in May: Weather service May 31, 2024

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By AFP - Agence France Presse

Finland hits record heatwave in May: Weather service

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Finland set a new record in May by recording 15 “exceptional” days in which temperatures exceeded the country's official heatwave limit, the Meteorological Institute said.

There were 15 days when temperatures above 25 Celsius (77 Fahrenheit) were recorded in the Nordic nation, part of which is situated above the Arctic Circle. The previous record in Finland was set in 2018 when 14 days were above 25C.

“It's very exceptional that we've had so many hot days already in May,” climate researcher Mika Rantanen from the Finnish Meteorological Institute told AFP.

He said that temperatures are forecast to remain above 25°C until the end of the month on Friday, which would result in a total of 16 heatwave days in May.

According to Rantanen, the exceptionally hot temperatures - around 10°C above average for May - could be an indication that a hot summer is on the way, increasing the risk of forest fires and droughts.

“The exceptionally hot May of 2018 turned out to be a precursor to a very hot summer,” he said.

The mild weather was caused by a persistent high-pressure system situated over northern Europe for several weeks, in combination with climate change, according to Rantanen.

“We can say with certainty that this heatwave is about two degrees warmer in today's climate than it would have been in a pre-industrial climate,” he said, warning that extreme weather events such as heatwaves around the world would “only get worse as long as we are emitting greenhouse gases into the atmosphere”.

Earlier this week, Finnish meteorologists issued a rare heatwave alert for May, warning of the health risks of hot weather.

Normally, such alerts are issued in June at the earliest.

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