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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.
- Exterior shot, Palais des Nations flag alley, sunny, flags fluttering.
- Wide shot, United Nations press room III, almost empty amid ongoing COVID-19 social distancing measures.
- 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.”
- Wide shot: podium speaker.
- Medium shot: journalist, seated, typing on laptop.
- Medium shot: observer texting on mobile phone and at podium (out of shot).
- Wide shot: UN Geneva Palais des Nations.
- Wide shot : “Broken chair” memorial, Place des Nations, Geneva.
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As world’s water reserves change, countries must prepare for a new reality: WMO
New data showing that rivers were at their lowest level for decades last year provides further evidence that the climate crisis is real and countries must act immediately to protect themselves from the increasing threat to communities and livelihoods, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Thursday.
The key findings from WMO’s State of Global Water Resources 2025 report covering the hydrological cycle and extreme events in the five-year period to last year:
- 2025 was one of driest years for river discharge in 35 years
- Past seven years have seen abnorfmal river flows
- Water storage on Earth’s land surface has decreased in past decade
- Widespread glacier loss across all regions for fourth consecutive year
- Asia and Africa are regions most affected by water-related disasters
- Water data availability has improved, but gaps remain in hard-hit areas
Highlighting the long-term decline in the Earth’s freshwater storage and glacier melt, WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo explained that the planet’s water reserves used to act as a planetary “savings account” that absorbed the occasional dry season, avoiding a water crisis. “One of the central stories of the 2025 report is what is happening to that savings account? And the simple answer is that we are depleting it,” she told journalists in Geneva.
Groundwater reserves are equally stretched and have been in decline since 2014, WMO’s report states, with nearly two-thirds of monitored wells worldwide showing levels lower than the historical norm and indicating a shift “further toward deficit…not recovery”.
“At the same time, we are seeing more water-related disasters,” Ms. Saulo said, while also stressing that the currently strengthening El Niño “will increase the risk of drought in some areas, and flooding in others”.
Glaciers disappearing
In 2025, for the fourth consecutive year, every major glaciated region on Earth lost ice mass, leading to short-term hazards including floods and long-term water insecurity, according to WMO.
Responding to a question about whether the changing global water cycle might have contributed to the deadly Nepal-China flooding disaster, Ms. Saulo explained that melting ice and rock was just one factor in the chain of events that ultimately sent a massive and deadly wall of water and debris downstream on 26 August, killing at least 1,367 people.
“You asked if it could happen again? Absolutely; the problem in this region is that there’s 63,700 glaciers at the last count,” she told a Press Conference in Geneva. “Even if you’re looking with remote sensing with satellites at these glaciers, you might see some faults, you might see some slight shifting, that does not mean necessarily catastrophic collapse. So, in order to plan for this, it’s very, very difficult. But the international community is looking very hard at ways in which we can bring people together to solve some of these monitoring issues.”
Data indicates that glaciers shrank between 2023 and 2025 with cumulative losses of 1,400 gigatonnes of water – or about one third of annual fresh water needs.
Every major glacier region on Earth lost ice for the fourth consecutive year.
“All 19 glacier regions around the globe lost ice; in Central Asia, Iceland, the Russian Arctic and western Canada and the United States, it was among the three worst years on record,” said Wayne Jenkinson, WMO’s Director of Hydrology and Cryosphere.
Some regions with smaller glaciers such as Central Europe, the Caucasus, the western Canada and the United States may already have reached “peak water”, Mr. Jenkinson warned.
“After this point, the glacier gives less meltwater each year simply because there is less ice left to melt. That matters for every community downstream that relies on water during hot, dry summers,” he explained.
Narelle van der Wel, WMO’s Head of Cryosphere Monitoring, Predictions and Services, stressed that while some further glacier loss is unavoidable, the eventual scale of the decline is not predetermined.
“Some glacier loss is inevitable, but total loss of glaciers is not yet inevitable,” she said, pointing to emissions reductions as central to limiting future losses.
Preparing for moving baselines
The report does not attribute every observed change to climate change alone. WMO says pressure on water resources and natural variability also contribute.
Mr. Jenkinson said governments need to prepare for “moving baselines” as historical patterns become less reliable.
“The situation 30 years ago is not where we are today,” he said. Countries, he added, need to prepare “for those changes that have really already arrived”.
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