Finland records coldest January temperature since 2006

Finland experienced its coldest January temperature since 2006 when Enontekiö Airport registered -42.4 °C (-44.3 °F) on January 4, 2024. The severe cold is not isolated to Finland, as nearby regions in Sweden and Norway have also reported record-low temperatures, indicating a widespread Arctic chill across the Nordic countries.

The northwestern town of Ylivieska became a focal point of the cold snap with a recorded temperature of -37.8 °C (-36 °F) early on January 3, 2024, but on January 4, the mercury at Enontekiö Airport in Lapland plunged to -42.4 °C (-44.3 °F) at 06:21 UTC, adding this day to the record books as the coldest January day in Finland since 2006.

On January 5, Enontekiö Airport recorded a minimum temperature of -44.3 °C (-47.7 °F), marking the lowest temperature of the century in the Fennoscandian Peninsula.

The final Tmin in Enontekiö Airport was -44.3°C, the lowest temperature of the century in Fennoscandia! 🥶

-44.3°C Enontekiö 🇫🇮 (2024)
-44.0°C Storbo 🇸🇪 (2001)
-43.9°C Drevsjø 🇳🇴 (2001)
-43.8°C Naimakka 🇸🇪 (2024)
-43.6°C Kvikkjokk-Årrenjarka 🇸🇪 (2024), Inari & Kittilä 🇫🇮 (2006) https://t.co/g6v0UqxF2A pic.twitter.com/WYUXCSt9Fp

— Thierry Goose (@ThierryGooseBC) January 5, 2024

Forecasters warned that the Finnish capital of Helsinki is bracing itself for a week of biting cold, expecting temperatures to hover between -15 and -20 °C (5 and -4 °F). Certain areas could see the thermometer dip even lower, potentially surpassing -40 °C (-40 °F) before the end of the week.

Meanwhile, neighboring Sweden’s Lapland region reported temperatures plummeting to -43.6 °C (-46.5 °F) in Kvikkjokk-Årrenjarka on January 3, marking not only the lowest January temperature in Sweden since 1999 but also the coldest day for the area since records began in 1888.

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Sweden records lowest January temperature since 1999

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Featured image credit: GFS/ClimateReanalyzer