The month of January was unusually and exceptionally mild in many parts of Finland, according to data published by the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) on Wednesday.
Average temperatures in some regions were 2‒5 degrees Celsius higher when compared to the years 1991–2020, FMI noted.
The city of Rovaniemi in Finnish Lapland saw the warmest January ever recorded since monthly measurements began in the late 1950s, which Yle meteorologist Kerttu Kotakorpi described as "exceptional".
Kotakorpi further noted that the biggest anomalies were observed in southern and eastern Lapland.
"In the north, winter warms up at a faster rate than other places," Kotakorpi said, adding that although high variability is a part of the Finnish climate and the latest readings are based on just one single month, the trend is in line with climate forecasts.
January was also wetter than usual in most parts of the country, but rainfall was exceptionally high in some places, especially on the west coast and in the east.
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