climate of the Nordic countries

File:Scandinavia.TMO2003050.jpg

In Denmark, January temperatures average between {{convert|-2|°C|°F|0|abbr=on}} and {{convert|4|°C|°F|0|abbr=on}}.{{cite web |title=Scandinavia in January - Monthly Events Calendar |url=http://goscandinavia.about.com/od/scandinaviamonthbymonth/p/january.htm |accessdate=2008-10-26 |author=Terri Mapes |archive-date=2016-09-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160915233519/http://goscandinavia.about.com/od/scandinaviamonthbymonth/p/january.htm |url-status=dead }} Denmark's coldest month, however, is February, when the mean temperature is {{convert|0|°C|°F|0|abbr=on}}.{{cite web |title=Weather in Denmark: Temperatures, Weather & Climate |url=http://goscandinavia.about.com/od/denmar1/ss/weatherdenmark.htm |accessdate=2008-10-23 |author=Terri Mapes |archive-date=2016-11-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161130063845/http://goscandinavia.about.com/od/denmar1/ss/weatherdenmark.htm |url-status=dead }} The number of hours of sunlight per day does increase during the month of February for Denmark, where they get seven to eight hours a day.{{cite web |title=Scandinavia in February - Monthly Events Calendar |url=http://goscandinavia.about.com/od/scandinaviamonthbymonth/p/february.htm |accessdate=2008-10-26 |author=Terri Mapes |archive-date=2016-07-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160704142853/http://goscandinavia.about.com/od/scandinaviamonthbymonth/p/february.htm |url-status=dead }} Iceland winters are generally mild considering how high its latitude is. The coastal lowlands of Iceland have average January temperatures of about {{convert|0|°C|°F|0|abbr=on}}, while the highlands of central Iceland generally stay below {{convert|-10|°C|°F|0|abbr=on}}. The lowest winter temperatures in Iceland are usually somewhere between {{convert|-25|°C|°F|0|abbr=on}} and {{convert|-30|°C|°F|0|abbr=on}}, although the lowest temperature ever recorded on Iceland was {{convert|-39.7|°C|°F|0|abbr=on}}.{{cite web | author = Ólafur Ingólfsson | title = The dynamic climate of Iceland | publisher = University of Iceland | date = | url = http://www3.hi.is/~oi/climate_in_iceland.htm | accessdate = 2007-06-07 }} In Norway, the coastal regions have mild winters, while further inland winter is much colder. During midwinter, southern areas of Norway only get five to six hours of sunlight a day, while the north gets little to none.{{cite web |title=Weather in Norway: Temperatures, Weather & Climate |url=http://goscandinavia.about.com/od/norwa1/ss/weathernorway.htm |accessdate=2008-10-23 |author=Terri Mapes |archive-date=2016-04-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160424075840/http://goscandinavia.about.com/od/norwa1/ss/weathernorway.htm |url-status=dead }} In January, the average temperature in Norway is somewhere in between {{convert|-6|°C|°F|0|abbr=on}} and {{convert|3|°C|°F|0|abbr=on}}. Like neighboring Norway, Finland averages {{convert|-6|°C|°F|0|abbr=on}} to {{convert|1|°C|°F|0|abbr=on}} in the month of January. Finnish areas north of the Arctic Circle rarely see the sun rise, due to the natural phenomenon of the polar night. In January and February, temperatures in this area can drop to {{convert|-15|°C|°F|0|abbr=on}}. In February, Northern Finland sees about four to six hours of daylight a day.

In Iceland, spring brings warmer and milder temperatures. In the month of May, the average temperature is somewhere between {{convert|4|°C|°F|0|abbr=on}} and {{convert|10|°C|°F|0|abbr=on}}.{{cite web |title=Scandinavia in May - Monthly Events Calendar |url=http://goscandinavia.about.com/od/scandinaviamonthbymonth/p/may.htm |accessdate=2008-10-26 |author=Terri Mapes |archive-date=2017-01-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170106102902/http://goscandinavia.about.com/od/scandinaviamonthbymonth/p/may.htm |url-status=dead }}

Denmark's warmest month is July, when the mean temperature is {{convert|17|°C|°F|0|abbr=on}}. In Iceland, occasionally thunderstorms occur in the south in late summertime, due to warm air being deflected to northern latitudes from warm air masses in other parts of Europe. Also, cold air originating from Canada, warms rapidly over the ocean, forming thunderclouds. Thunderstorms, however, are very rare in Iceland, and there are less than five of them per year. In June, Iceland's average daily temperatures range from {{convert|8|°C|°F|0|abbr=on}} to {{convert|16|°C|°F|0|abbr=on}}.{{cite web |title=Scandinavia in June - Monthly Events Calendar |url=http://goscandinavia.about.com/od/scandinaviamonthbymonth/p/june.htm |accessdate=2008-10-26 |author=Terri Mapes |archive-date=2017-01-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170106102938/http://goscandinavia.about.com/od/scandinaviamonthbymonth/p/june.htm |url-status=dead }} Summer conditions vary in Norway depending on location. The Norwegian coast has cooler summers than areas further inland. Due to its northern location, there is almost no darkness in June and July in the north, reaching as far south as Trondheim. In summer, the average temperature in the Northern areas are somewhere between {{convert|8|°C|°F|0|abbr=on}} and {{convert|16|°C|°F|0|abbr=on}}, while further South it is usually {{convert|13|°C|°F|0|abbr=on}} to {{convert|22|°C|°F|0|abbr=on}}.{{cite web |title=Scandinavia in July - Monthly Events Calendar |url=http://goscandinavia.about.com/od/scandinaviamonthbymonth/p/july.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071127013440/http://goscandinavia.about.com/od/scandinaviamonthbymonth/p/july.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 27, 2007 |accessdate=2008-10-26 |author=Terri Mapes }} In Finland, summers experience more rainfall than other seasons. Finland areas north of the Arctic Circle rarely see the sun set during the months of June and July, due to the natural phenomenon Midnight sun.{{cite web |title=Weather in Finland: Temperatures, Weather & Climate |url=http://goscandinavia.about.com/od/swede1/ss/weathersweden.htm |accessdate=2008-10-23 |author=Terri Mapes |archive-date=2017-01-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170106173436/http://goscandinavia.about.com/od/swede1/ss/weathersweden.htm |url-status=dead }} Northern parts of Finland have summer temperatures in the {{convert|8|°C|°F|0|abbr=on}} to {{convert|16|°C|°F|0|abbr=on}} range, while further south, the temperature is closer to {{convert|13|°C|°F|0|abbr=on}} and {{convert|23|°C|°F|0|abbr=on}}. During summer in Greenland, ice sheets breaking up trigger what is known as "glacial motion" or "glacial earthquakes".

File:Retreat of the Helheim Glacier, Greenland.jpg

{{main|Global warming}}

{{main|Effects of global warming}}

Greenland is one of the areas in both the Nordic region and the world most affected by climate change. A July 2006 study completed by "The Journal of Climate", determined that the melting of Greenland's ice sheets was the single largest contributor to global sea level rise. The temperatures from the year 2000 to the present have caused several very large glaciers that had long been stable, to begin to melt away. Three glaciers that have been researched: Jakobshavn Isbræ, Helheim and Kangerdlugssuaq Glaciers, jointly drain more than 16% of the Greenland Ice Sheet. Satellite images and aerial photographs from the 1950s and 1970s show that the front of the glacier had remained in the same place for decades. In 2001, the ice sheet began retreating rapidly, retreating {{convert|7.2|km|mi|abbr=on}} between 2001 and 2005. It has also accelerated from {{convert|20|m|ft|abbr=on}} to {{convert|32|m|ft|abbr=on}} a day.{{cite web |url=http://currents.ucsc.edu/05-06/11-14/glacier.asp |title=Rapidly accelerating glaciers may increase how fast the sea level rises|author=Emily Saarman|publisher=UC Santa Cruz Currents |date= 2005-11-14 |accessdate=2007-12-28}} Western Greenland's Jakobshavn Isbræ is generally considered the fastest moving glacier in the world, and has been moving continuously at speeds of over {{convert|24|m|ft|abbr=on}} a day with a stable terminus since at least 1950. The glacier's ice tongue began to break apart in 2000, leading to almost complete disintegration in 2003, while the retreat rate doubled to over {{convert|30|m|ft|abbr=on}} per day.{{cite web |url=http://www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/lookingatearth/jakobshavn.html |title=Fastest Glacier in Greenland Doubles Speed |publisher=NASA |date=2004-12-01 |author=Krishna Ramanujan |accessdate=2007-12-28 |archive-date=2006-06-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060619191601/http://www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/lookingatearth/jakobshavn.html |url-status=dead }} In the summer of 2005, the island of Uunartoq Qeqertoq was discovered off the eastern central coast of Greenland. Prior to 2005, many people assumed that Uunartoq Qeqertoq was actually a peninsula off Liverpool Land, however, the melting ice shelves revealed that it was only connected to the mainland by glacial ice.{{cite news |title=An island made by global warming |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/an-island-made-by-global-warming-445966.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080405094859/http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/an-island-made-by-global-warming-445966.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 5, 2008 |accessdate=2007-04-24 |author=Michael McCarthy | work=The Independent | location=London | date=2007-04-24}}

Scientists estimate that should the current rate of climate change continue, Greenland's ice sheet, which contains {{convert|630,000|cumi|km3}} of ice, could melt and cause global sea level to rise by {{convert|23|ft|m|abbr=on}}. Some climate experts have estimated that Greenland could be losing {{convert|80|cumi|km3}} of ice each year.

{{cite news |title=The Warming of Greenland |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/16/science/earth/16gree.html?_r=1&oref=slogin |work=New York Times |date=2007-01-16 |accessdate=2008-04-07}}

The 2008 Environmental Performance Index ranked countries based on the environmental performance of the country's policies. On the list, Norway was ranked 2nd, Sweden was 3rd, 4th was Finland, Iceland was ranked as 11th, and Denmark came in 26th.{{cite web |title=Environmental Performance Index 2008 |url=http://epi.yale.edu/Home |accessdate=2008-01-25 |author=Yale Center for Environmental Law & Policy / Center for International Earth Science Information Network at Columbia University |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100204001019/http://epi.yale.edu/Home |archive-date=2010-02-04 |url-status=dead }}

{{Portal|Denmark|Faroe Islands|Finland|Iceland|Norway|Sweden}}

• Climate
• Climate change
• Climate of Denmark
• Climate of Finland
• Climate of Iceland
• Climate of Norway
• Climate of Sweden
• Climate of the Arctic
• Climatology
• Meteorology

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{{Europe topic|Climate of}}

{{Nordic countries}}

Category:Climate of Europe

Category:Nordic countries