Heatwave hits Nordic countries with 34°C recorded near Arctic

Greenpeace's 'Arctic Sunrise' ship navigates through floating ice in the Arctic Ocean on September 15, 2020. Reuters

Meteorologists across the Nordic countries registered near-record temperatures at the weekend, including highs of 34°C in some places, news agencies reported on Monday.

Finland’s meteorological institute registered its hottest temperature for June since records began in 1844.

Kevo, at the far north of Finland, recorded heat of 33.5°C on Sunday, the hottest since 1914 when authorities registered 34.7°C, the STT agency said.

Several parts of Sweden also reported record highs.

“June 2021 was the hottest June ever recorded in my home town Stockholm by a large margin," climate campaigner Greta Thunberg tweeted.

“The second hottest June was in 2020. The third in 2019. Am I sensing a pattern here? Nah, probably just another coincidence."

At a national level, June 2021 was the third-hottest ever recorded in Sweden.

And Norway’s meteorological institute registered 34°C in Saltdal, a county near the Polar Circle.

That is the highest temperature measured in the country this year, and only 1.6°C short of its record.

Several parts of the world have already experienced crushing heatwaves this year.

Canada is battling forest fires in the western province of British Columbia after sweltering under temperatures of up to 49.6°C, a new national record.

On Thursday, the UN confirmed a new record high temperature for the Antarctic continent, measured last year, of 18.3°C.