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Sweden breaks new cold record as cold spell continues

TT/The Local
TT/The Local - [email protected]
Sweden breaks new cold record as cold spell continues
Johanna Henriksson walking her dog, Tikka, in -39C in Vittangi, Kiruna municipality, earlier this week. Photo: Emma-Sofia Olsson/TT

The big freeze is still very much ongoing in Sweden, as the country recorded its coldest temperature this season, breaking the record set earlier this week which was the coldest January night in 25 years.

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On Wednesday night, the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute's northernmost weather station in Kiruna municipality in the far north of Sweden recorded the coldest temperature this season, Aftonbladet reports.

"Our station in Naimakka recorded -43.8 degrees on Wednesday night," SMHI meteorologist Linus Karlsson told the newspaper. "That's cold, to say the least."

On Thursday night, multiple stations were noting temperatures below -40C. Earlier this week, Kvikkjokk weather station in Jokkmokk municipality recorded -43.6C. It was that particular weather station’s coldest temperature since records began in 1888, according to national weather agency SMHI.

This week is also the first time Sweden has seen temperatures drop below -40C since 2021.

The warmest temperature on Friday morning was in northern Öland, at -1.4C.

"There's a wide range, but all of Sweden is below freezing," Karlsson told TT newswire.

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The cold weather is expected to continue throughout the weekend. Things will start to get warmer around Tuesday next week, with the north of the country warming up while the south stays cold.

"Norrland will be above freezing while the south of the country is below freezing. It's a bit upside-down," Karlsson said.

There’s still a way to go though before Sweden’s coldest temperature record is broken. This was -52.6 degrees, measured in Vuoggatjålme in the Arctic Circle in February 1966, and is also the coldest temperature ever recorded in Europe, excluding Russia.

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