PRELIMINARY STATISTICS from the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) reveal that last year was the warmest on record dating back to the mid-1800s in Finland.
The annual mean temperature in the country was 4.8°C, representing an increase of 0.6°C from the previous record from 2015 and one of roughly 2.5°C from the long-term average for 1981–2010. The record-warm year is yet another indication of the warming climate in Finland, according to FMI.
“Out of Finland’s 10 warmest years, six have been witnessed since 2010,” highlighted Pauli Jokinen, a meteorologist at FMI.
January, June and November were all the second warmest in history. In November, the monthly high-temperature record was broken twice, with the mercury soaring first to 14.7°C in Pori, Satakunta, on 3 November, and then to 16.6°C in Mariehamn, Åland, on 6 November.
December was similarly unusually warm in all parts of the country, with the mean temperature ranging from a little over 4°C in the south-western archipelago to -9°C in Utsjoki, the northernmost municipality in Finland. The largest deviation from the long-term average was registered in Western Lapland, where the mercury hovered about 7°C higher than usual.
Snow depth at the end of last month was 10–20 centimetres shallower than on average in all parts of the country except Western Lapland. The snow cover was measured to be 5–15 centimetres in southern and central parts, and 20–40 centimetres in northern parts of the Finland.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
