The average daily maximum temperature for June in the region was 18C.
WMO, an UN agency, stated that the extreme heat was more appropriate for the Mediterranean than the Arctic.
This is the first time that the agency has included Arctic Circle in its archive for extreme weather reports.
According to the WMO, the 38C temperature was recorded at a meteorological station in Siberia during “an extraordinary and prolonged Siberian heatwave”.
Although fires are quite common during the summer months, they can be extremely severe due to high temperatures and strong winds.
According to the WMO, high temperatures in Siberia caused “massive sea-ice loss” which was a major factor in 2020 being one the three warmest years ever recorded.
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Climate change and extreme weather
According to the agency, the Verkhoyansk record was verified and showed that temperatures were rising in a climate-important region.
Petteri Taalas, Secretary General of WMO, stated that the new Arctic record was one of several observations sent to the WMO archive on Weather and Climate Extremes. These observations sound alarm bells about climate change.
According to Mr Taalas, melting snow and ice from the Russian Arctic was a major factor in warming.
He said, “This is very much due to changes in the radiation characteristics of the soil and ocean… once there was snow cover, radiation properties are very different from those of the dark soil or open water.”
According to the WMO, the Arctic Circle was added to its archive of World Weather and Climate Extremes under a new category that covers high temperatures in the area.
According to the WMO, the Arctic is the most rapidly warming region in the world. It heats at twice the global average.
The Arctic’s warming is causing the melting of the once-permanently frozen permafrost beneath the ground.
Scientists are alarmed by this because methane and carbon dioxide previously stored below the ground are released.
These greenhouse gases can lead to further warming and further thawing permafrost in a vicious circle known as positive feedback.
Higher temperatures cause Arctic land ice to melt faster, which in turn leads to more run-off into oceans that contribute to sea-level rise.
Climate change is a result of human activity. This has a direct impact on all aspects of human life.
If unchecked, humanity and nature will suffer catastrophic warming. This could lead to worsening droughts and greater sea level rise, as well as mass extinctions of species.