Finland saw the 19th consecutive day of 30-degree temperatures on Wednesday morning, according to the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI).
The FMI said a temperature of 30.1 degrees Celsius was recorded at the Koitsanlahti weather station in the South Karelian municipality of Parikkala between 10 and 11 am.
The agency noted in a post on social media site X that Wednesday's 30-degree threshold was broken much earlier in the day compared to the past record-breaking days.
Finland's all-time 30-degree heat record (13 days in 1972) was broken nearly a week ago. The earlier record had stood unchallenged since such temperature data started being collected in 1961.
At the beginning of this year, it was reported that the Nordic region's climate is warming considerably faster than the rest of the world.
Last year, Finland saw a record number of 'hot' days — when temperatures exceeded 25 degrees — with a total of 71 throughout the year.
The heat goes on
The heat is set to continue. According to Yle meteorologists, some areas of Finland will see temperatures near or above 30 degrees on Wednesday, particularly so in eastern parts of the country.
However, conditions were cooled in northern Finnish Lapland, where rain brought temperatures down to just above 10 degrees on Wednesday morning. Rainy conditions are expected to continue in the region, with local thunderstorms also likely.
Western areas may also see thunderstorms.
No major changes in the weather are expected on Thursday, except in northern Lapland, where temperatures above 20 degrees are expected.
There is the possibility of showers and thunderstorms in southern and central areas on Thursday, according to Yle's weather forecasters.
