A record temperature of almost 20 degrees was reached in Iceland on Christmas Eve, local weather services confirmed.
On December 24, the temperature reached 19.8°C in Seyðisfjörður, a small town in eastern Iceland. The average December temperature in Iceland ranges from -1°C to 4°C.
Overall it was a hot day, with temperatures reaching 19.7C in Bakkagerdi in eastern Borgarfjörður, in the far east of the country. The previous record was set on December 2, 2019, when the temperature was 19.7°C at Quiskerjar in Årefi, southeast Iceland.
Birgir Orn Höskuldsson, a meteorologist at the Icelandic Meteorological Office, told news agency RÚV that the conditions for the record temperature were created because warm air of tropical origin was over the country. A powerful high-pressure system pulled warm, moist air south and kept cold air out.
Iceland is getting warmer due to global warming caused by the burning of fossil fuels and the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
In May there were record heat waves across the country, with areas 3-4C warmer than normal. May temperature records were set at 94% of all automatic stations that had been operating for at least 20 years. The highest temperature was 26.6°C on May 15 at Egilsstadir Airport in eastern Iceland.
Earlier this year The mosquitoes were first discovered in Iceland as global warming makes the country more hospitable to the insects. Before this, the country was one of only two places without a mosquito population (the other being Antarctica).
Research has shown Arctic region is warming four times faster than the rest of the planet, and Iceland has survived it heat record this year. Glaciers are eroding, and fish from warmer southern countries, such as mackerel, have been found in the country's waters.
