Warm weather continues in Finland as high-pressure system affects temperatures

A strengthening high pressure system is expected to keep the weather summery throughout this week, according to meteorologist Jaakko Savela from the Finnish Meteorological Institute. He noted that the summer has been either exceptionally warm or unusually warm depending on the region.

Temperatures have hit record highs, particularly in Northern Lapland, with southern and western weather stations across Finland recording average temperatures about 1–1.5 degrees Celsius higher than usual. In the east and north, averages have exceeded normal levels by up to 2.5 degrees, which Savela describes as rare.

Mika Rantanen, a researcher at the meteorological institute, commented on the constant warmth experienced this summer. “While we haven’t had extreme heat waves like in 2018 or other previous summers, we also haven’t seen any cool periods,” he said.

The warm summer weather has been attributed to the low and high-pressure systems over Europe and the North Atlantic, maintaining a continuous warm pattern. This has been quite evident in Northern Lapland, where August has been exceptionally warm due to a high-pressure area in the upper atmosphere near the Barents Sea, particularly affecting the Utsjoki area.

Rantanen pointed out that this year has been exceptional in many ways, starting with a cold winter that extended into spring, followed by a sudden transition to hot weather in May. He does not believe that the significant temperature variations observed this year will become a regular occurrence.

Looking ahead, Rantanen predicts that summers will lengthen and winters will shorten, but not at the expense of spring and autumn. He emphasizes that weather variability will continue to be significant in the region, with years differing greatly from one another.