THE FINNISH METEOROLOGICAL INSTITUTE HAS CONFIRMED that 2018 was the hottest year in Finland since records began over 150 years ago, fuelling further concerns over the pace of climate change.
In a bulletin released by the Institute this morning, they reveal that overall, 2018 was a full 2 degrees warmer than usual as an average. Meanwhile, the peak temperature of the year, which was recorded as 33.7 degrees Celsius in Vaasa on 18 June, was one of the highest ever reached.
Perhaps even more alarmingly, the Institute has also confirmed that “about half” of the warmest years on record were all in the previous decade, with 2011, 2013, 2014, and 2015 all shattering heat records.
The summer of 2018 in Finland was unique in that not only did the heatwave last for an extended unbroken period, but there was also exceptionally little rain. The effect of this was that permanent snow in the far north of the country melted completely and average daily temperatures remained five degrees above normal readings throughout summer.
While the Institute has said that years as hot as 2018 should repeat themselves only once a decade, according to patterns observed over the previous century, consistently rising temperatures since 2011 suggest that this will not be the case.
Adam Oliver Smith – HT
Source: Uusi Suomi
Image: Lehtikuva
