The far north of Europe started the new year with freezing temperatures. In northern Sweden, temperatures below minus 40 degrees Celsius were measured for the first time since the end of 2021, as the Swedish Meteorological Institute SMHI announced. In some places, such as Umeå, it was colder than it had been in twelve years.
Due to safety risks caused by the cold, all passenger train connections north of Umeå have been suspended until Thursday, according to broadcaster SVT.
According to the institute, there is currently a high pressure area with extremely cold air over the northeast of Sweden and the north of Finland. In Nikkaluokta near Kiruna, minus 41.6 degrees was recorded. However, the Swedish cold record for this century is even lower: in February 2001, a whopping minus 44.0 degrees was measured in Storbo.
The meteorologists in neighboring Finland also recorded temperatures well into double digits below zero: It was freezing cold throughout the country, with temperatures generally between minus 20 and minus 30 degrees, the Ilmatieteen laitos institute there wrote on its website on Tuesday. In the central and northern parts of the country, the cold could reach minus 40 degrees in the next few days.
