Nordic region hit by record heatwaves and extreme climate impacts, new report warns

A record-breaking 21-day heatwave struck Norway, Sweden, and Finland last summer, marking the longest ever registered in the sub-Arctic region, according to a new European climate report published Wednesday.

The 2025 State of the European Climate report, produced by the EU’s Copernicus programme and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), reveals that nearly all of Europe experienced above-average temperatures last year, with some of the most severe impacts concentrated in the Nordic countries during July.

In Frosta, Trøndelag, temperatures reached 34.9°C, while the Norwegian Sea suffered a marine heatwave. Europe’s average sea surface temperature also hit its highest recorded level, the report states.

Arctic warming accelerates

Last summer’s Nordic heatwave affected the region researchers define as “sub-Arctic Fennoscandia”—Norway, Sweden, and Finland north of the 60th parallel (just above Oslo). Temperatures exceeded 30°C at multiple locations north of the Arctic Circle, including Storforshei in Nordland, where 12 consecutive days above 30°C were recorded.

Meanwhile, Europe’s glaciers continued to shrink. Iceland experienced its second-largest glacial mass loss on record, while Greenland lost 139 billion tonnes of ice—contributing to global sea-level rise.

Wildfires and emissions surge

Heat and drought fueled unprecedented wildfires across Europe, with emissions reaching their highest levels since records began. Spain, the UK, Cyprus, the Netherlands, and Germany all set new wildfire emission records, while over 1 million hectares burned continent-wide—another record.

“The evidence is unequivocal: climate change is not a future threat but today’s reality,” said Samantha Burgess of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), which coordinates Copernicus’ climate monitoring.

Karoline Andaur, secretary-general of WWF Norway, warned that more frequent and extreme heatwaves are pushing Nordic nature beyond its limits. “A warmer ocean and drier landscapes also weaken Norway’s preparedness and food security from fisheries and agriculture,” she said.

Wildlife and plant species—both on land and at sea—face habitat loss and shifting precipitation patterns due to rapid warming, the report adds.