Siberian town topped 100 degrees, a new Arctic record

A brutal warmth wave in the summertime of 2020 left some parts of the Arctic Circle sweltering as temperatures soared to ranges extra typical of the Mediterranean. Now, meteorologists have confirmed a temperature recorded in the course of the worst of the warmth was so uncommon that it prompted a brand new class of record-keeping.

On Tuesday, the World Meteorological Group (WMO), the official climate company of the United Nations, introduced that it had verified that the excessive temperature within the city of Verkhoyansk, Russia, on June 20, 2020, climbed to 100.4 levels Fahrenheit (38 levels Celsius). The temperature is the primary to carry the newly minted title of highest recorded temperature at or north of the Arctic Circle, outlined as 66.5 levels north.

AccuWeather forecasters say temperatures usually solely prime out round 60 F (15.5 C) by mid-June in Verkhoyansk, a city positioned 71 miles (115 km) north of the Arctic Circle. The city’s meteorological remark station has been in operation for greater than 135 years, relationship again to 1885.

A summer time day with temperatures nearing 100 F is extra widespread in locations like Athens, Greece, and even Taipei, Taiwan,– not the Arctic Circle.

“This new Arctic file is one among a collection of observations reported to the WMO Archive of Climate and Local weather Extremes that sound the alarm bells about our altering local weather. In 2020, there was additionally a brand new temperature file (65 F or 18.3 C) for the Antarctic continent,” WMO Secretary-Normal Prof. Petteri Taalas mentioned in a press release.

Earlier than this 12 months, data within the Arctic Circle weren’t separated out within the WMO’s Archive of Climate and Local weather Extremes, which incorporates detailed climate extremes from across the globe. Nevertheless, given “excessive temperature and ongoing local weather change,” a panel of specialists was convened so as to add this latest class, in response to the WMO.

Whereas data for the Antarctic area, outlined as areas south of 60 levels south, have been accessible within the Archive of Climate and Local weather Extremes since 2007, that is the primary 12 months that each polar areas shall be represented.

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Verkhoyansk, now formally referred to as an Arctic Circle’s scorching spot, is not any stranger to wild swings in temperature and excessive circumstances, in response to AccuWeather’s workforce of meteorologists.

Verkhoyansk is positioned in Russia’s Sakha Republic. The area is residence to a really harsh and dry continental local weather and is susceptible to scorching summers and brutal winters.

“The intense variation in temperature in Verkhoyansk is most obvious in the course of the transition seasons,” AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dan Pydynowski defined.

When Verkhoyansk transitions between summer time and fall, for instance, excessive temperatures can take huge tumbles inside only a 24-hour interval. In mid-October, the everyday excessive temperature for Verkhoyansk hovers round 10 F (-12 C). In 2021, the excessive temperature for the city hit an especially excessive 54 F (12.2 C) on Oct. 18, however simply 24 hours later, the mercury struggled to achieve 3 F (-16 C).

The Arctic Circle is among the many quickest warming areas on the planet and is “heating greater than twice the worldwide common,” in response to the WMO.

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A year-and-a-half might appear to be a very long time to attend to confirm a excessive temperature file, however because of a lot of components together with information evaluation and high quality management, taking this period of time was crucial.

One other separate issue was the creation of a brand new class of local weather file. For the reason that Arctic class was new for the WMO’s archives in 2021, the analysis committee needed to dig by previous local weather information and examine for “different doable previous extremes of comparable worth,” in response to the WMO.

The committee concluded that there have been no identified temperatures of 100.4 F (38 C) or above at any Arctic places in recorded historical past and thus confirmed Verkhoyansk because the true record-holder.

Along with verifying the very best temperature on file north of the Arctic Circle, the WMO additionally confirmed the bottom temperature ever recorded within the area. The bottom temperature file north of the Arctic Circle now belongs to Klinck, Greenland, with a low temperature of minus 93.3 F (minus 69.6 C).

“Verifying data of this sort is vital in having a dependable base of proof as to how our local weather’s most excessive extremes are altering,” mentioned Dr. Blair Trewin, who works for Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology and is a member of the WMO’s analysis committee.

Excessive warmth occasions weren’t simply restricted to 2020 as they continued to happen throughout Russia in 2021. In June, a blistering warmth wave roasted parts of the nation, together with town of Moscow. Moscow climbed to an astounding 94.5 F (34.7 C) on June 22 and tied the all-time June file excessive set again in 1901.

The WMO can also be investigating the validity of two further excessive temperature readings from the previous two summers. In each 2020 and 2021, Demise Valley, California, soared to 130 F (54.4 C), however that studying is pending verification as some specialists are skeptical concerning the city’s potential world file. Elsewhere, an identical investigation is underway for a metropolis on the Italian island of Sicily. The mercury at Siracusa, Italy, reportedly topped out at 119.8 F (48.8 C) in August, which, if confirmed, would break Europe’s continental warmth file.

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