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Siberia ‘sets extreme weather record’ for Arctic Circle
Reports that temperatures in a Russian town in the Arctic Circle likely reached a record 38 degrees Celsius (100.4 degrees Fahrenheit) have been approved pending final verification by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), it said on Tuesday.
“The World Meteorological Organization is seeking to verify reports of a new temperature record north of the Arctic circle,” said WMO spokesperson Clare Nullis. “This is a reported 38 degrees Celsius, which if converted into Fahrenheit is more than 100 degrees Fahrenheit, so 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit. It was reported in the Russian town of Verkhoyansk amid a prolonged Siberian heatwave and increase in wildfire activity.”
If the Russian authorities confirm the temperature observation taken last weekend in Verkhoyansk, WMO will then refer the finding for a further detailed review by an international panel of experts, Ms. Nullis explained in Geneva.
The region of Eastern Siberia now in the spotlight is known for its weather extremes both in winter and in summer, she added, with temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius not unusual in July.
“The record was reported by media to have occurred on 20 June, so this Saturday, and we’ve asked experts from the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute of the Russian Federal Service for Hydrometeorological and Environmental Monitoring which is known by Roshydromet…We’ve asked them why and apparently this particular region of Eastern Siberia has very, very cold extremes in winter, but is also known for its extremes in summer.”
According to WMO, the Arctic is heating at roughly twice the global average.
The heat spike follows a prolonged Siberian heatwave and wildfire period, Ms. Nullis explained, after an unusually warm spring that was also characterised by a lack of snow.
This “undoubtedly helped play a critical role in causing this extreme temperature observation”, Ms. Nullis said, quoting Professor Randall Cerveny, WMO Rapporteur on Weather and Climate Extremes.
“Siberia has experienced unusual heat this spring,” Ms. Nullis continued. “May was about 10 degrees Celsius (18.5 degrees Fahrenheit) above average in many parts of Siberia and it was this extraordinary heat which actually drove, made the warmest May on record for…the northern hemisphere, and also we think at a global level as well.”
According to WMO, air temperatures in the Arctic from 2016 to 2019 were the highest on record.
Equally worrying, the volume of Arctic sea ice in September 2019 – after the melting season - declined by more than 50 per cent, compared to the average from 1979 to 2019.
WMO’s verification process involves requesting additional information from the Russian meteorological service Roshydromet, including the readings, the type of equipment used and how the observation corresponds to others taken by surrounding weather stations.
“Those data will then be very carefully examined by an international panel of atmospheric scientists who, once they discussed it, will make a recommendation as to whether or not the observation is valid,” said Professor Cerveny, quoted by WMO in a statement.
He added: “The end result will be incredibly valuable information that will help climate scientists better understand climate, engineers and medical doctors better prepare for climate extremes and even the general public in achieving a better appreciation of climate change across this planet.”
This latest report of an Arctic temperature that is more typical of the Tropics comes a few months after the Argentine research base, Esperanza, on the northern tip of the Antarctic peninsula, set a new record temperature of 18.4 degrees Celsius (65.3 degrees Fahrenheit) on 6 February 2020, WMO said.
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- SOUNDBITE (English) – Clare Nullis, World Meteorological Organization (WMO) spokesperson: “The World Meteorological Organization is seeking to verify reports of a new temperature record north of the Arctic circle. This is a reported 38 degrees Celsius, which if converted into Fahrenheit is more than 100 degrees Fahrenheit, so 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit. It was reported in the Russian town of Verkhoyansk amid a prolonged Siberian heatwave and increase in wildfire activity.”
- Medium-shot, observer checking mobile phone, seated.
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Clare Nullis, World Meteorological Organization (WMO) spokesperson: “The record was reported by media to have occurred on 20 June, so this Saturday, and we’ve asked experts from the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute of the Russian Federal Service for Hydrometeorological and Environmental Monitoring which is known by Roshydromet as its name. We’ve asked them why and apparently this particular region of Eastern Siberia has very, very cold extremes in winter, but is also known for its extremes in summer.”
- Medium shot, journalist seated at table with laptop, looking down.
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Clare Nullis, World Meteorological Organization (WMO) spokesperson: “Siberia has experienced unusual heat this spring; May was about 10 degrees Celsius above average in many parts of Siberia and it was this extraordinary heat which actually drove, made the warmest May on record for - certainly for - the northern hemisphere, and also we think at a global level as well.”
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