Spring was warmest on record in nearly all of the country
According to the statistics of the Finnish Meteorological Institute, the average temperature in spring (March–May) varied from seven degrees in the southern coast of Finland to zero degrees in Northern Lapland. The average temperature was record-high in nearly everywhere in the country compared with the long-term average of 1991–2020; the temperature deviation was between roughly two and four degrees in most parts of the country.
In Kaisaniemi in Helsinki, the average temperature in spring was 6.9 degrees Celsius. It is the highest value of the station’s entire 182 year observation history, exceeding the previous record from 1921 by 0.3 degrees. According to estimates, the climate change after the early 1900s made this year’s spring roughly 2.3 degrees warmer in Helsinki and the average temperature around 40 times more likely than it would have been without the observed global warming. The estimate is based on a peer-reviewed method by the Finnish Meteorological Institute and the University of Helsinki.
This spring’s highest temperature was 30.2 degrees, which was measured in Tohmajärvi and Ilomantsi on 20 May. The lowest temperature in the spring months was -25.2 degrees measured in Nuorgam, Utsjoki on 2 March.
There was widely less rain than usual during this spring, and record breakingly little in some areas in the south. The lowest precipitation was recorded at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, 32.7 millimetres, and the highest in Raistakka, Posio, 168.3 millimetres. The precipitation levels in the spring were the lowest in the measurement history in several southern stations.
In the spring months, the sun shone for 50–90 hours more than usual in the southern and central parts of the country, and in the north, the hours of sunshine were closer to normal.
May continued the streak of warmer than usual spring months
According to the statistics of the Finnish Meteorological Institute, the average temperature in May varied from approximately +12 degrees Celsius in the southern part of the country to about +4 degrees Celsius in Northern Lapland. The average temperature for May was higher than normal throughout the whole country. In the north, some observation stations were unusually warm.
The highest temperature of May was 30.2 degrees, recorded on 20 May in Tohmajärvi and Ilomantsi. The figure did not fall far behind the all-time highest temperature in May, 31.0 degrees, which was measured in Lapinjärvi at the end of May 1995. A total of four days that exceeded the temperature of 25 degrees were observed in May, which is one more than the long-term average.
The lowest temperature of the month was -9.2 degrees measured at the Kilpisjärvi Village Centre in Enontekiö on 7 May.
May was slightly drier than usual in the western part of the country and Northern Lapland. In the eastern and northern parts of the country, on the other hand, there was more rain than usual. It rained especially heavy in parts of Kainuu, Koillismaa and Eastern Lapland, even twice as much as usual, and there were station-specific precipitation records in these areas in May.
As in this spring in general, the amount of rain was highest at the Posio Raistakka observation station, where it rained 114.2 mm in May. The lowest amount of precipitation, 13.6 mm, was recorded at the Vihti Hiiskula observation station. The greatest amount of precipitation in a single day, 27.7 millimetres, was recorded at the Ylä-Luosta observation station in Rautavaara on 22 May.
The number of hours of sunshine measured was mostly normal in May, although there were regional differences between the west and the east.
Further information:
Weather statistics from the Climate Service, tel. +358 600 1 0601 (€ 4.06/min + local network fee)
