PARIS: From the Arctic Circle and Scandinavia to California, Japan and North Africa, an exceptional heatwave has been sweeping across the Northern Hemi­sphere for several weeks, setting record high temperatures and causing drought and wildfires.

Meteorologists say the summer weather conditions are a result of climate change.

“2018 is shaping up to be one of the hottest years on record, with new temperature records in many countries,” said Elena Manaen­ko­­va, deputy secretary-general of the World Meterological Organisa­tion (WMO).

“This is no surprise,” she added. “The heatwaves and extreme heat we are experiencing are consistent with what we expect as a result of climate change, caused by greenhouse gas emissions.

“This is not a future scenario. It is happening now.”

30°C in Arctic Circle

The summer weather in the north of Europe has been especially unusual with the thermostat in the Arctic Circle hitting 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit).

Record temperatures were reported in northern Norway at 33°C last week, more than 15°C higher than normal, according to the Norwegian meteorological institute.

Another record in Norway was set at Makkaur on the Barents Sea where the mercury in the land of the midnight sun on July 18 never dropped lower than 25°C.

And near the Arctic Circle at Kvikkjokk in Sweden temperatures climbed to 32.5°C on July 17, while the Finnish Lapland the next day saw 33.4°C, according to Meteo France.

In Russia’s Siberia, the mercury hit 37.2°C at Tompo on July 9 and 35.5°C at Vanavara on June 26, the US National Oceanic and Atmos­pheric Agency (NOAA).

Across Europe

In other parts of Europe, a heatwave has moved across Ireland and the British isles to France, though the temperatures have not set record highs.

Southern European countries, in contrast, have seen summer temperatures lower than normal, according to the WMO.

But the still hot, dry weather triggered wildfires in Greece, claiming at least 82 lives, making them Europe’s deadliest this century.

41°C in Japan

In Japan, several dozen people have died in the scorching heat which reached a national record of 41.1°C at Kamagaya on Monday, official data showed.

The same day it reached more than 40°C for the first time in Tokyo’s metropolitan region.

African record?

In the Sahara desert of Algeria on July 5, the mercury soared to 51.3°C, which was probably “the highest ever recorded in Algeria by reliable instruments”, the WMO said.

It is likely a record for the African continent, since reliable records began, according to Meteo France.

But if the WMO recognises data from Africa’s colonial period as reliable, the 55°C temperature reached in Tunisia in 1931 would still be considered as the African record.

Published in Dawn, July 27th, 2018