Skip to main content

Oslo, Norway (AFP) – The Svalbard archipelago in the Arctic saw its highest August temperature ever recorded at the weekend, topping 20 degrees Celsius, Norway’s Meteorological Institute said Monday.

The measurement of 20.3 degrees (68.5 Fahrenheit) was registered on Sunday at the weather station at Svalbard’s airport, the institute said in a statement posted on X, adding that a cold front was approaching.

“The temperature will remain high until it arrives this afternoon. Maybe it will be 20 degrees today too?” the institute said.

The previous August record was 18.1 Celsius, registered on August 31, 1997.

The highest temperature ever recorded on Svalbard was 21.7 Celsius on July 25, 2020, which beat the previous record set in 1979.

The Svalbard archipelago is located halfway between mainland Norway and the North Pole.

Average August temperatures recorded at the Svalbard airport are between six and nine degrees Celsius.

According to a study published in 2022 by Finnish and Norwegian researchers, the Arctic has warmed almost four times faster than the rest of the world since 1979.

Rising temperatures have melted sea ice which, in turn, contributes to accelerated warming in the region, a phenomenon known as “Arctic amplification”.

A report published in 2019 — “The Svalbard climate in 2100” — found that the average temperatures for the archipelago between 2070 and 2100 will rise by 7-10 degrees, due to the levels of greenhouse gas emissions.

str/nzg/jll/rl

© Agence France-Presse

Featured image credit: Allexxandar | Freepik

Image: Greta Thunberg
Greta Thunberg fined over Swedish parliament climate protestsNews

Greta Thunberg fined over Swedish parliament climate protests

Stockholm, Sweden | AFP A Stockholm court fined climate activist Greta Thunberg on Wednesday for disobeying police orders after blocking access to Sweden's parliament during…
SourceSourceMay 8, 2024 Full article
3D globe graphic (s. climate, flood, water)
Possible cooling La Niña will be ‘weak’, ‘short-lived’: UNNews

Possible cooling La Niña will be ‘weak’, ‘short-lived’: UN

Geneva, Switzerland | AFP - The cooling weather phenomenon La Niña could appear in coming months, but if it does it will likely be too…
SourceSourceDecember 11, 2024 Full article
Graphic news (s. climate, science, research, scientists. emission targets, floods)
Spain to send extra 10,000 troops, police to flood-hit region: PMNews

Spain to send extra 10,000 troops, police to flood-hit region: PM

Madrid, Spain | AFP - Spain will deploy 10,000 more troops and police officers to the eastern Valencia region devastated by floods that have killed…
SourceSourceNovember 2, 2024 Full article