The highest temperature ever recorded in the Arctic has been officially confirmed by the United Nations World Meteorological Organization (WMO). This has alerted a number of organizations and governments to climate change.

A temperature of 38 degrees Celsius, more suitable for the Mediterranean climate, was recorded in the Siberian city of Verkhoyansk in June 2020. In fact, temperatures in the region as a whole this summer were on average 10 degrees above normal, according to a WMO statement.

"This new Arctic record is one in a series of observations that raise concerns about our changing climate," said Petteri Taalas, WMO Secretary-General.

The WMO said that extreme heat was "more suitable for the Mediterranean than for the Arctic" and that the heat wave was a key factor in igniting devastating fires, causing huge losses of sea ice and playing a major role in 2020 which is one of the three warmest years since the statistics were kept. "

According to data from the Russian Forest Agency, forest fires in Siberia are the worst in history, destroying more than 18.6 million hectares of Russian forests in 2021 alone. The smoke from the great hell has even reached the North Pole.

Verkhoyansk is about 115 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle and its meteorological station has been recording temperature records since 1885. An unprecedented record has forced the organization to create a new category for monitoring extreme weather conditions for the Arctic Circle alone - "highest recorded temperature".

The Arctic is warming at more than twice the world average, causing some extreme climate change. These include a record number of fires caused by burning carbon-rich peat, melting some of the Arctic's thickest ice, and thawing centuries-old ice, which could release radioactive waste and wake ancient dormant viruses.

Scientists have even warned that rising Arctic temperatures could lead to the death of the polar bear by the end of this century. Elevated temperatures also lead to an increase in the number of grizzly-polar bear hybrids called "pizzly" bears.

The Arctic is not the only part of the world that has experienced record temperatures. In 2020, Antarctica also set a new temperature record, set at 18.3 C in Argentina's Esperance base last year. This year in Syracuse, Italy, a temperature of 48.8 C was recorded - the highest recorded temperature in European history.

Death Valley in California also experienced near-record heat this summer, when mercury reached 54.4 C. The record is currently held by Kebili, Tunisia, with a temperature of 55 degrees Celsius, recorded on July 7, 1931.

/BGNES