Finland’s cold January continues this week, and the coldest place in the country will feel the chill. Tohmajärvi in North Karelia has average temperatures of -22 degrees in January, and that figure is set to drop further in the coming days.
Nearby Joensuu isn’t much warmer, with an average of -20.7 degrees—some 11.7 degrees colder than average.
Tuomas Bergman of the Meteorological Institute says that the average could drop even further in the coming days.
"There is a 30 degree difference in temperatures in forecasts for next week," said Bergman. "If the high pressure system doesn’t move on, then North Karelia will be very cold indeed."
If the weather front does move on, then conditions in North Karelia will warm by 7-11 degrees—and southern Finland could even see temperatures above zero.
January has been this cold only four times in the last 58 years.