The Washington Post reports:
A northeastern Siberian town is likely to have set a record for the hottest temperature documented in the Arctic Circle, with a reading of 100.4 degrees (38 Celsius) recorded Saturday in Verkhoyansk, north of the Arctic Circle and about 3,000 miles east of Moscow. Records at that location have been kept since 1885.
If verified, this would be the northernmost 100-degree reading ever observed, and the hottest temperature on record in the Arctic, a region that is warming at more than twice the rate of the rest of the globe.
On Sunday, the same location recorded a high temperature of 95.3 degrees (35.2 Celsius), showing the Saturday reading was not a fluke. The average June high temperature in Verkhoyansk is just 68 degrees (20 Celsius).
Satellite image today showing extensive smoke and fires east of Verkhoyansk. Blue coloured ice in Laptev Sea is an indication of melting ice and there is lots of open water visible in the East Siberian Sea. pic.twitter.com/BemW0fccrq
— Kilkenny Weather (@kilkennyweather) June 20, 2020
Verhojansk, a Russian town in East Siberia known for its exceptionally cold winters, just broke its all-time heat record with a whopping 38.0°C (100.4°F)! Records kept since 1885.#ArcticHeatwave pic.twitter.com/P6tbJ4DbKd
— Mika Rantanen (@mikarantane) June 20, 2020
We are in a relentless Arctic #heatwave – Siberia is literally on fire right now and it’s set to continue.
Temperatures will comfortably exceed + 30 °C within the Arctic Circle over the next 10 days at least. It is a staggering + 20-25 °C warmer than it should be…
[THREAD] pic.twitter.com/J9opJLIaIw— Scott From Scotland (@ScottDuncanWX) June 19, 2020