Fri Sep 20 08:15:21 UTC 2024: ## Record-breaking Warmth in Finland’s North Followed by Cooling Trend
**Utsjoki, Finland** – Unusually warm weather has gripped Finland’s northernmost municipality of Utsjoki, with temperatures reaching record highs for this time of year. On Thursday, the Kevo measuring station in Utsjoki recorded an unprecedented 21.3 degrees Celsius, setting a new autumn temperature record.
This warm spell has extended across Lapland, with Pello, situated north of the Arctic Circle, reporting the highest temperature in Finland on Thursday at 22.2 degrees Celsius. This marks the latest date in autumn that temperatures have surpassed 20 degrees in central and northern Lapland since record keeping began in the 1960s.
Despite the record-breaking warmth, the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) predicts a cooling trend over the coming weekend. Temperatures are unlikely to exceed 20 degrees Celsius anywhere in Finland.
Otso Suominen, director of the University of Turku’s Kevo Research Station, highlights the unprecedented nature of this year’s temperatures in Utsjoki. Lapland has experienced an extraordinary number of hot days, with the average temperature for the first ten days of September exceeding the typical July average.
However, Suominen emphasizes the concern of low rainfall, which poses a greater threat than the warm weather. The water level of Lake Kevojärvi, for example, is currently lower than at any point since measurements began in 1962.
This exceptional weather has been a topic of discussion across the country, while other news stories have focused on political preferences and the discovery of an unknown concrete structure.
First Piper 