An Arctic blast brings extreme cold to Scandinavia while deadly flooding hits western Europe
It’s a tale of different extremes in Europe, as the cold in Scandinavia contrasts with much milder temperatures further south in Europe, which is experiencing deadly storms.
Helsinki, Finland, is experiencing frigid temperatures as a cold snap passed through regions of Scandinavia and came north.
(CNN) — Parts of Europe are experiencing an extreme start to the new year’s weather, as some countries grapple with devastating floods while others have been plunged into extreme cold.
An Arctic blast has brought some record-low temperatures to northern Sweden and Finland along with heavy snow, causing chaos on the roads.
Kvikkjokk-Årrenjarka, in northern Sweden, recorded -43.6 degrees Celsius (-46.4 Fahrenheit) Wednesday, the lowest temperature in that location since records began in 1887, said Sverker Hellström, a meteorologist at the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute.
Snow drifts have caused severe impacts on the roads, leaving people stuck in their cars, Hellström told CNN.
Snowy affects the traffic in Stockholm, Sweden, on Jan. 2, 2023. Anders Wiklund/TT/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
On Thursday, rescue services evacuated hundreds of people who had been trapped overnight in their cars due to heavy snow, according to a Reuters report.
In the far northwest of Finland, temperatures in the municipality of Enontekiö dropped to -42.4 degrees Celsius (-44.3 Fahrenheit), marking country’s lowest temperature for 18 years.
A woman was found dead Tuesday after going skiing in a blizzard in northern Finland and her child was still missing Wednesday, according to Reuters.
Scandinavia has been grappling with biting cold since December. Norway’s average temperature in December was 2.3 degrees below average, with Sweden and Finland seeing temperatures as low as 6 degrees below average across certain regions.
The very cold weather may also have contributed to the Bothnian Bay, between Sweden and Finland, completely freezing over earlier than usual, said Mika Ratanen, a researcher at the Finnish Meteorological Institute. It’s the earliest in winter this has happened since 2011, he told CNN.
Snow and ice in the Finnish capital, Helsinki, on Jan. 3, 2023, as a cold snap hit the country. (Alessandro Rampazzo/AFP/Getty Images)
“Currently it looks like we will have a pretty good ice situation in the Baltic Sea this winter, probably the best we have had in many years,” he told CNN.
The current cold temperatures are expected to last through Thursday before beginning to return to average by next week.
It’s a tale of different extremes in Europe, however, as the cold in Scandinavia contrasts with much milder temperatures further south in Europe,which is experiencing deadly storms.
Hundreds of flood warnings are also in place in the UK after Storm Henk swept southern parts of the country, bringing strong winds and heavy rain.
The storm claimed at least one life after a man died Tuesday when a tree fell onto the car he was driving in Gloucestershire, southwest England, according to local police.
While Henk is now over, more rainfall is predicted for southern England on Thursday and Friday, according to the European Severe Weather Database.
Flooding after the River Severn burst its banks on Jan. 3, 2024, in Worcester, England. (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
While this rain isn’t expected to be as heavy as previous days, it will fall on already saturated ground, increasing the risk of more flooding.
The same storm brought intense flooding to northern parts of France, leaving hundreds without power and forcing more than 370 evacuations.
The Pas-de-Calais department of northern France is under “red alert” for flooding on Thursday, with a further six departments in the region under the next highest orange alert, according to the country’s national weather service Météo France.
Local authorities have warned people in affected areas not to go into their basements, to avoid travel and stay away from waterways.
The storm comes a few months after northwestern Europe was battered by Storm Ciarán, which brought hurricane-strength winds and claimed several lives in November.
Waves in Newhaven, England on Jan. 2, 2024, as Storm Henk brought strong winds and heavy rain across much of southern England. (Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images)
Climate change, driven primarily from the burning of fossil fuels, is causing extreme weather events, such as heavy rainfall and storms, to become more frequent and more intense.
As the Earth’s atmosphere warms, it is able to hold more water vapor — so when it rains, it rains much more intensely, increasing the likelihood of destructive flooding.
Last year was the hottest on record globally.
CNN’s Pierre Bairin and Maya Szaniecki contributed reporting
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