Svalbard breaks the highest temperature record. Saturday night the temperature was 21.7°C (71.06°F). This extraordinary weather condition causes melting of icebergs in one of the world’s northernmost inhabited areas.
Svalbard is a Norwegian archipelago between mainland Norway and the North Pole. One of the world’s northernmost inhabited areas, it’s known for its rugged, remote terrain of glaciers and frozen tundra sheltering polar bears, Svalbard reindeer and Arctic foxes.
Yesterday, inhabitants of Svalbard had completely unusual temperatures.
Between 5pm and 6pm,termometers hit record-high 21.7°C. It is 0.4°C above the old record from 1979.
Meteorologist Sjur Wergeland says to NRK this unusual experience is a result of climate change.
The reason for the high temperatures is hot air currents from Russia.
As a result of the hot temperatures, a lot of ice has melted on Svalbard. In the Longyear River, which flows through Longyearbyen, the water level is unusually high according to field biologist and photographer Eirik Grønningsæter.
