Northern
Europe sees unusually mild December
OSLO (Norway): While part of North America is suffering through a record freeze, northern Europe is enjoying unusually balmy temperatures that are disturbing wildlife, traffic and the winter sports season.
OSLO (Norway): While part of North America is suffering through a record freeze, northern Europe is enjoying unusually balmy temperatures that are disturbing wildlife, traffic and the winter sports season.
9 January, 2014
The month of December was one of the mildest in a century in the Nordic countries, according to meteorologists, with temperatures exceeding their normal seasonal average by four to five degrees Celsius in Norway and Finland.
Oslo
experienced its warmest Christmas since records began in 1937, while
in Helsinki and southern Finland the second half of December was the
mildest in 30 years. In Koege outside Copenhagen the mercury reached
11.6 degrees C on Christmas Eve.
This
year began in a similar vein: pavements in all the Scandinavian
capitals were uncharacteristically free of ice and snow, with the
white stuff appearing only briefly in Oslo and Stockholm in early
December.
Swedish
daily Dagens Nyheter said several types of migratory birds have yet
to leave for warmer climes, and showed cherry blossoms that normally
only appear in the spring.
“In
the north, winter has arrived, but in the south it's autumn according
to the meteorological definition,” the Swedish Meteorological and
Hydrological Institute (SMHI) said.
On
Norway's west coast, local newspaper Sunmoereposten published reader
photographs of crocuses, daisies and dandelions, and budding branches
of honeysuckle.
The
lack of snow forced the organisers of the Norway Ski Championships,
held in mid-January, from the town of Molde to the more reliable
location of Lillehammer, which hosted the 1994 Winter Olympics.
In
Finland, the snow-free weather is worrying the organisers of the
cross country skiing championships set to be held in Vantaa from
January 17 to 19, amid fears that it may be too warm to cover the
trails with artificial snow.
In
Denmark, outdoor skating rinks designed to withstand temperatures of
5 C were covered with water this week.
Finnish
roads were rapidly deteriorating due to the constant shifts between
sub-zero temperatures during the night and warmer weather during the
day, Jukka Karjalainen, director for road maintenance at the Finnish
Transport Agency, told daily Helsingin Sanomat.—AFP
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