A temperature record set in a Russian Arctic city last summer has raised “alarm bells” about climate change, the World Meteorology Organisation (WMO) said on Tuesday.

The Northeast Russian community, known for having an exceptionally cold winter, reached a record high of 38 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius) as of June 20, 2020, according to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), a United Nations agency.

Secretary General Pettris Taalas said: “This new Arctic record is one of a series of observations reported to WMO’s Extreme Weather and Climate Archive that should sound the alarm. about our climate change.”

Historical research conducted in the national records of northern nations demonstrated that there is no known temperature on any arctic spot equal or higher to the Verkhoyansk high.

As Arctic records are a new category, the data had to be compared with other records through an intensive review process with a network of volunteers.

The investigators also want to check whether a 129.9-degree mark in Death Valley of California in 2020 and also this year was reached, and if it was a value of 119.8 degrees on Sicily, considered the highest temperature in Europe.

Although all parts of the planet are warm, some places are warming faster – and the pace of Arctic change is more than twice as fast as the global average.

Average temperatures in Arctic Siberia hit 10 degrees centigrade above normal “for much of summer last year,” the WMO says, fueling devastating fires, spurring massive sea ice loss, and playing a major role in 2020, one of the three warmest years on record.”


Petteri Taalas

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Petteri Taalas is the Secretary-general of the World Meteorological Organization, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. Appointed in 2015 by the World Meteorological Congress, (wikipedia)


World Meteorological Organization

The World Meteorological Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for promoting international cooperation on atmospheric science, climatology, hydrology and geophysics. (wikipedia)


United Nations

The United Nations is an intergovernmental organization aiming to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, (wikipedia)


Arctic Circle (organization)

The Arctic Circle is an organization founded by former President of Iceland Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, former Alaska Dispatch Publisher Alice Rogoff, (wikipedia)


Verkhoyansk

Town in Verkhoyansky District of the Sakha Republic, Russia, located on the Yana River in the Arctic Circle, 92 kilometers from Batagay, the administrative center of the district, (wikipedia)


Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is an intergovernmental body of the United Nations responsible for advancing knowledge on human-induced climate change. (wikipedia)