In the Icelandic town of Seydisfjördur in the east of the country, they measured a maximum temperature of 19.8 degrees Celsius on December 24. This is the highest temperature recorded on the island on Christmas Day since measurements began. The average highest daily temperature in December, for example, in the area of the capital is usually in the range of minus one to plus four degrees Celsius. TASR writes about it according to a report from the British newspaper The Guardian.
High temperatures were recorded on December 24 all over Iceland. The previous December record came from December 2, 2019, when a maximum of 19.7 degrees Celsius was measured in the town of Kvískerjar in the southeast of Iceland.
Birgir Örn Höskuldsson from the Icelandic Meteorological Office told the RÚV news agency that the temperature record was the result of the intrusion of warm air of tropical origin. This was the result of a situation where the high pressure pushed warm and humid air to the south of the island while at the same time preventing the penetration of cooler air from the north.
Iceland has been hit by record heat this year, with some areas experiencing three to four degrees Celsius warmer than usual in May, for example. In the same month, temperature records were set at 94 percent of all automatic stations. The highest temperature was recorded at Egilsstadir Airport in the east of Iceland in mid-May, at 26.6 degrees Celsius.
Earlier this year, mosquitoes appeared in Iceland for the first time. Global warming means that these insects can survive even in previously inhospitable parts of the planet. According to studies, the Arctic region is warming four times faster than the rest of the planet.
