Svalbard warmest in Norway
It was finally snowing in southern Norway on Thursday, after a mostly green Christmas, but the weather remained unseasonably warm up north. Svalbard, photographed here on a winter day in 2004, is exhibiting signs of global warming. PHOTO: OLAV OLSEN |
December was the warmest on record in northern Norway since 1900, and the relatively balmy temperatures continued into the New Year.
Thermometers hit a startling 6C (43F) on Wednesday on the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, ranking it as the warmest spot in the country. State meteorologists said the "normal" temperature for Svalbard in early January -- calculated over a 30-year period -- is minus-14.6C.
Last year was, in fact, the warmest ever registered on Svalbard.
Average December temperatures for the entire country were 2.8 degrees higher than normal. The highest average temperatures were recorded along the coast from the counties of Nordland to Sogn og Fjordane.
Weather stations in the northern county of Troms and also in the southeastern county of Østlandet logged record precipitation as well. Some areas reported rainfall and snow 50 percent above normal in December.
Nina Berglund/NTB
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