21 August 2018
Climate Scientists Cite Record Temperatures in US, Finland
UN Photo/Mark Garten
story highlights

The Finnish Meteorological Institute recorded the warmest July ever for the country at 19.6°C.

NOAA's 'State of the Climate in 2017' confirms that 2017 was the third warmest year on record, after 2016 and 2015.

The report notes that an extreme fire season in the western US destroyed over four million hectares at a total cost of US$18 billion.

10 August 2018: Global temperatures continue breaking records, and July 2018 was no exception. A report from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) pointed to record high temperatures, sea level rise and costly disasters. In addition, the Finnish Meteorological Institute recorded the warmest-ever July for the country, and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) recorded extreme temperatures worldwide in 2018.

NOAA’s report on the ‘State of the Climate in 2017,’ released as a supplement to the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society (AMS), is described as an “annual check-up for the planet.” It provides an update on global climate indicators, weather events and other data collected by environmental monitoring stations and instruments located in space and on land, water and ice. Examining global temperature, precipitation and weather events, the report confirms that 2017 was the third warmest year on record, after 2016 and 2015, and comes as extreme summer temperatures continue across Europe.

The 2017 report also notes: a global sea level record high in 2017 for the sixth consecutive year, which has led to flooding in such places as Hawai’i, US; unprecedented coral bleaching; and financial impacts of disasters, such as Hurricanes Harvey, Maria and Irma, which represented three of the five costliest disasters in US history. In addition, the report explains that an extreme fire season in the western US destroyed over four million hectares at a total cost of US$18 billion, and 16 disasters costing over US$1 billion made 2017 the costliest year for the US since at least 1980.

The annual assessment, which has been published annually since 1996 by NOAA and the AMS, documents the status and trajectory of the climate system’s components, as well as of the capacity and commitment to observe the climate system. [Report webpage] [State of the Climate 2017] [UNISDR press release]

In Europe, the Finnish Meteorological Institute recorded the warmest July ever for the country at 19.6°C. In addition, some municipality-specific records for average temperature were broken locally in western Finland and the northern part of the country, while in Lapland, the average July temperature was around 5°C higher than normal. The Institute also recorded lower than normal precipitation levels in July throughout most of the country. In addition, the sun shone approximately 300-350 hours in the southern and central parts of the country, and around 350-400 hours in the southwestern archipelago and in the northern part of the country. [WMO press release on Finland]

Finally, WMO records for July indicate record highs, heatwaves, droughts and wildfires across the northern hemisphere. [WMO press release on July extreme weather and impacts]

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