When temperatures fell to just 21°C in a summer night in 2018 (July 29), it was reported in the news the following day. The first time in recorded history, Tromsø, about 350 km north of the Arctic Circle (69° 40′ 58″ N), had experienced what is called (at temperate latitudes) a tropical night: the temperature would not drop below 20 degrees. (The former Dean at Kuwait University FOD sighed when I told him that we call, in Germany, these nights “tropical”. In Kuwait, during summer months, temperatures usually hover around 33°C.)

Last night, it happened again in my former living place. The thermometer stopped at 21°C and, in addition, yesterday’s high was 29.9°C, just 0.3 K less than the all-time record of July 1972, 30.2°C.

While writing this post, I checked earth.nullschool.net and realized that the heat wave has arrived at the North Cape (71° 10′ 21″ N) with 23.5°C at 8:00 h local time.

Of course, the midnight sun is shining in Tromso for 24 hours right now. The period when the sun is not setting starts on May 21 and lasts till July 21. I am sure that people in Tromsø will enjoy the nice summer weather in times when tourists may still not be willing to visit Norway as it was before the pandemic.

But I also know of many Norwegians who stubbornly deny climate change and what it means for our lives in the near future.

29 June 2022 @ 9:26 am

Last modified June 29, 2022