Daily  Helsingin Sanomat  (HS) reports that temperatures will drop dramatically in southern Finland with a return to winter on its way after the summer-like warm sunny weather enjoyed on May Day, which was a public holiday in Finland. HS also issues a warning that driving conditions on Friday in many parts of Finland will be dangerous owing to snow and sleet showers.
 ”It’s advisable to prepare for the worst or very bad driving conditions at the end of the week owing to snow flurries and slippery roads,” writes HS, citing the Finnish Meteorological Institute. For Thursday there’s a weather warning in effect for Kainuu and Koillismaa, where it has rained and temperatures hover near zero degrees Celsius.
 On Friday driving conditions will be poor owing to snow and sleet in many municipalities, including Kainuu, Northern Ostrobothnia, central and eastern Finland. As such, the risk of accidents is high and there will likely be traffic disturbances, writes HS.
 ”It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that roads will be slippery if it snows,” sergeant  Timo Männikkö  of the Oulu police department told HS.
 From Arctic weather to the Arctic Council
 US Secretary of State  Mike Pompeo  will be in Finland attending the Arctic Council meeting in Rovaniemi on May 6 reports tabloid  Ilta-Sanomat .
 Along with six indigenous permanent participant organisations, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the United States are members of the Council, which coordinates Arctic policy. The council has become more relevant in recent years as sea ice thaws are opening up new trade routes and intensifying competition for the area’s oil, gas and mineral resources.
 According to Ilta-Sanomat, the goal of next week's meeting is to approve the Council’s strategy and sign the Rovaniemi Process on climate issues.
 Stolen baby found
 A baby kidnapped from a hospital in Central Ostrobothnia was found, reports  Iltalehti.
 The tabloid cites the Northern Ostrobothnia police department, who say that an infant taken from a Kokkola hospital has been found.
 ”This happened some time ago,” police commissioner  Tomi Mansikkamäki  of the Northern Ostrobothnia police department told Iltalehti. According to Mansikkamäki, a criminal report was filed on 17 April.
 Few details about the case are available and the Kokkola hospital would not comment on the case to Iltalehti.


Chilly and wet conditions enveloped Finland on Friday.
 A plunge of cold air is moving north-east, bringing snow and sleet showers to central parts as well as Kainuu in the east.
 On Friday, dry conditions will mostly prevail in the south and south-west as well as in Lapland, though the wind chill factor is adding to the bite of the cold weather.
 Saturday will bring rain showers to the south while central areas can expect sleet.
 Skies are expected to clear up nationwide on Sunday, which is when the sun will stage a comeback.
 On Saturday daytime highs will range from 7 degrees Celsius in the south to 3 up north, with temperatures rising slightly on Sunday.
 Driving conditions are poor in most of Finland on Friday.


Finland is one of the few countries to benefit economically from climate change in recent decades, according to a Stanford University study published by the US National Academy of Sciences in its prestigious journal, PNAS.
 Comparing a half-century of historical temperature fluctuations and economic growth, researchers found that warming has led to "robust and substantial declines in economic output in hotter, poorer countries—and increases in many cooler, wealthier countries—relative to a world without anthropogenic warming".
 Nearly 50% GDP growth linked to climate
 Between 1961 and 2010, researchers say, Iceland's GDP grew by 92 percent in relation to climate change, while Finland's grew by 48 percent and Norway's by 34 percent. Other main beneficiaries have been Canada, Sweden and Russia.
 On the other hand, the report suggests that India's economy would be one third larger if not for the effects of climate change.
 According to the report, "the primary driver is the parabolic relationship between temperature and economic growth, with warming increasing growth in cool countries and decreasing growth in warm countries".
 The report's authors add that their results show that, "in addition to not sharing equally in the direct benefits of fossil fuel use, many poor countries have been significantly harmed by the warming arising from wealthy countries’ energy consumption".
 Marita Laukkanen , chief researcher at Finland's VATT Institute for Economic Research, says she finds the results convincing, but does not see them as reason for Finland to celebrate.
 "We do not know and cannot completely predict what events or chains of events climate change will trigger," Laukkanen tells Yle. She notes that climate change may increase the number of refugees and weaken forest growth, for instance.
 Researchers note that drought is playing an increasing role in migration and unrest, such as in Libya's 2011 revolution and civil war.
 "We're not all in the same boat"
 According to the report, "the primary driver is the parabolic relationship between temperature and economic growth, with warming increasing growth in cool countries and decreasing growth in warm countries".
 The report's authors add that their results show that, "in addition to not sharing equally in the direct benefits of fossil fuel use, many poor countries have been significantly harmed by the warming arising from wealthy countries’ energy consumption".
 "The study shows simply and directly that we're not all in the same boat. The situation has built up historically and some countries are clearly more responsible for this while others have suffered from this and will continue to suffer in the future," says  Tero Toivanen  of the University of Helsinki's BIOS Research Unit, which focuses on socio-ecological development issues.


Helsingin Sanomat, the country's most widely-read newspaper, carries a  story  on how the parties chosen by Finland's next likely prime minister, Social Democratic Party chair  Antti Rinne  on Tuesday will have long-ranging consequences for the country's future in terms of its system of social benefits, response to climate change and taxation. Rinne earlier committed himself to reaching a final decision on the parties he will invite to Helsinki's House of the Estates for government formation talks by Tuesday evening.
 The paper writes that "today is an exciting day in politics" because the decision the SDP leader makes about what parties to choose will have "almost as much influence as the election results", as even some parties that did not do as well in the elections might be chosen to participate in the negotiations. It says that the elections were so close and the field of political parties in Finland preceding the parliamentary elections was so fragmented that "power is only now being meted out in earnest".
 Rinne said in a Saturday interview in the paper that he was looking for an "suitable friend" from among the parties that had earned the next-best election results: the populist Finns Party, the centre-right National Coalition Party and the Centre Party.
 Shining a light on internet recesses
 The Joensuu-based paper Karjalainen features an  STT story  on cyberbullying, reporting on a recent study that discovered that only one in five parents in Finland knew if their children had been subject to online harassment and only one in four has done anything to prevent their children from being the target of cyberbullying.
 Teachers were found to be much better aware of cyberbullying than parents, with one in three having observed the phenomenon in their work. Both the 1,000-some parents and the over 400 teachers responding to the study's survey said they wished there were more digital tools available to safeguard and promote empathy online.
 Insurance company If's country director  Timo Harju  tells the paper that adult figures in children's lives cannot rely on apps to solve the problem, saying that families should do everything in their power to "keep the lines of communication open" and talk about the subject.
 Tracking down lead-foots
 The paper Etelä-Suomen Sanomat also  reports  this Tuesday that police in Finland are planning to start sending notices to Estonian drivers that have been caught speeding by traffic cameras in the country. Law enforcement says the crackdown will begin with Estonian residents because the clear majority of traffic violations by foreigners have been traced to vehicles registered in Estonia.
 The news agency Uutissuomalainen says offenders can expect their first notices in early June. The notice advises the receivers to pick up a ticket stating their fine at the police station in Helsinki's Malmi district. Finnish police cannot send the actual ticket to Estonia, as criminal penalties cannot be sent abroad.
 "The notice will have a deadline and if the recipient doesn't respond by that time, we can put out a search notice for the individual,"  Dennis Pasterstein , chief inspector and head of Helsinki Police Department's traffic safety unit, tells the paper.
 Another scorcher in store?
 And finally, the tabloid Iltalehti has the  first of the inevitable summer weather forecasts  that start popping up at this time of the year in Finland. The tabloid reports a prediction from the Weather Company that says that Europe is in for a hotter summer this year than normal.
 Foreca meteorologist  Joanna Rinne  says it is too early to say with any certainty how things will play out, but unseasonably warm temperatures in the south could indicate hotter summer temps are on the way, as southern and central parts of Europe are already heating up. She says Spain could even see the 40 degrees Celsius mark be broken this summer.
 Rinne predicts more high-pressure fronts over northern parts of Europe in the coming months, meaning clear skies. Last summer Finland had 63 days with temperatures over 20 degrees Celsius, the second-warmest summer in Finnish history. The warmest temperature of the season was recorded in the west coast city of Vaasa on 18 July, when the mercury rose to 33.7 degrees.
 The tabloid writes that a Nature Communications study from last August found that extremely high temperatures will be twice as likely in Finland and the rest of the Europe for the next five years due to climate change and a rise in surface temperatures of the planet.


The Arctic Council ministerial meeting in Rovaniemi is set to end in disappointment after ministers failed to reach an agreement on the wording of a final joint declaration for the first time in the organisation’s 23-year history.
 Sources taking part in the negotiations told Yle News they understood that the United States was the only Arctic Council member not to agree to language on fighting climate change in the draft ministerial declaration.
 Finland’s caretaker Foreign Minister  Timo Soini  opened the day’s talks saying that under Finland’s leadership over the last two years, Arctic Council countries had “been able to sail together,” despite what he called “windy conditions.”
 The run-up to this year’s meeting in Rovaniemi was characterised by reports of conflict among the eight Arctic Council countries - Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the United States - with US newspaper The Washington Post reporting that US diplomats had attempted to remove any mention of climate change from the draft Rovaniemi declaration.
 No mention of climate change in joint statement
 Reacting to the news,  Gosia Smieszek  from the University of Lapland’s Arctic Centre told Yle News: “It’s not a conflict, it’s a fundamental disagreement over climate change and the fact that the current US administration denies it, which is something that other Arctic states cannot accept.”
 Soini’s official statement from the ministerial meeting noted that “a majority of [Arctic Council members] regarded climate change as a fundamental challenge facing the Arctic, and acknowledged the urgent need to take mitigation and adaptation actions.”
 A joint ministerial statement released in place of a declaration and signed by all eight of the participating foreign ministers did not explicitly mention climate change.
 In his statement to the Council meeting, US Secretary of State  Mike Pompeo  said, “the Trump administration shares your deep commitment to environmental stewardship.”
 “Collective goals, even when well-intentioned, are not always the answer. They are rendered meaningless, even counterproductive, as soon as one nation fails to comply,” he continued.
 Arctic people express concern
 Representatives of indigenous groups at the Arctic Council expressed alarm at the meeting’s failure to result in a final declaration.
 Sámi council president  Åsa Larsson Blind  told delegates, “by mentioning [climate change] by its real name, we can fight it, and reduce its impact.”
 “We need to express our deepest concern about the development of a commitment for this ministerial,” she said.
 James Stotts , president of the Inuit Circumpolar Council, said “We believe it’s time to stop bickering over whether there is climate change or not and start implementing strategies and actions to survive climate change.”
 “We believe it’s time to stop hiding from reality,” he concluded.


Finns need to eat far less meat and choose other forms of transportation over cars in order to impact climate change, according to leading Finnish daily Helsingin Sanomat (HS).  A report  released on Thursday by the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra, urges Finns to make radical changes to their lifestyles.
 Citing Sitra’s report, HS writes that a person living in Finland negatively impacts the climate five times as much as an individual in India.
 According to Sitra, the gap between Finnish lifestyles and international climate goals is vast. In the next ten years, saying that if the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement are to be achieved, emissions in Finland caused by consumption should be cut by nearly 75 percent.
 Most of the carbon footprint caused by the average person in Finland comes from transportation, housing, as well as food production and consumption.
 But finding solutions to address climate change cannot be the sole responsibility of individuals, as the required changes to address the issue are so great, says  Anu Mänty , senior adviser with Sitra.
 ”Major structural changes are needed. We need to develop new ways of thinking about our economy, infrastructure and consumption-based lifestyles. This requires radical rethinking in politics and administration, as well as in business models and in people’s lives,” she tells HS.
 Better election voter turnout?
 Leading  Tampere daily Aamulehti  suggests that more people in Finland will vote in this year's European Parliamentary elections than five years ago, when less than 40 percent turned out to cast their votes.
 In Pirkanmaa, or the Greater Tampere region surrounding Finland’s second largest city, ”more people are voting than five years ago,” according to Tampere University political researcher  Sami Borg , who was interviewed by Aamulehti.
 Borg forecasts that climate change and immigration will activate people to vote in the MEP elections, especially Greens and Finns Party supporters.
 In Lielahti, Tampere there was a queue of eager voters on Wednesday morning. At the end of that day, 3.6 percent of all eligible Finns had cast their vote; in the Pirkanmaa region that figure stood at 3.9 percent.
 ”On the first day of voting more people voted than [on the first day] five years ago,” Borg told the paper. ”It’s still too early to say whether overall voter turnout will be higher than five years ago.”
 Summer arrives
 Finland’s warmest temperatures of the year were recorded in Turku on Wednesday, writes  tabloid Iltalehti , citing the Finnish Meteorological Institute, which recorded temperatures of 17.5 degrees Celsius in Finland’s third largest city. Espoo was close behind, with 17 degrees Celsius recorded on Wednesday.
 Institute meteorologist  Tomi Kaurinen  told Iltalehti that ”temperatures will continue to heat up and could climb above 20 degrees Celsius in the next couple of days.”
 According to Iltalehti, Thursday will be sunny and clear throughout the country, with highs of 17 degrees Celsius expected in the capital region and slightly cooler temperatures for coastal areas.
 ”Even northern regions will hit 15 degrees Celsius, and Lapland will see temperatures of 10 degrees Celsius,” Kaurinen told Iltalehti.


Temperatures in southern and central Finland will likely breach 20 degrees Celsius on Friday and the weekend will be even warmer, according to Yle meteorologist  Joonas Koskela .
 "The air across Finland will gradually warm up and temperatures will rise across much of the country throughout the weekend. Each day will be warmer than the previous day. On Sunday temperatures in south-western areas could reach 25 degrees," Koskela said.
 The meteorologist explained that a high pressure system has been building up in western Finland and will spread across the country towards the south-east on Friday. Meanwhile temperatures will rise and it will be mostly sunny, which will bring up temperatures even further.
 Temperatures in northern Finland could reach 19 degrees on Saturday, when it will also likely be around 9 degrees in northern Finnish Lapland.
 Winds subside, UV radiation goes up
 "There will be very light winds across the majority of the country, but moderate wind is possible as well," Koskela explained, noting that the coast could be cooler than inland areas due to sea breezes.
 Koskela said to expect moderate UV radiation levels from the sun in southern Finland.
 "Remember to protect your skin [with sunblock or clothing] over the weekend if you're out in the sunny weather," he said.
 But Koskela also said that the sunny, summer-like weather could get wetter after the weekend, saying that a low pressure system over western Europe could bring rain over southern and central areas of Finland at the beginning of next week.
 Koskela said he doesn't think any heat records will be broken this weekend.
 "The beginning of May has been very chilly and it's rained a lot in many areas. Forecasts also point to more rain [next week]," Koskela said.


Many parts of western Finland basked in uncharacteristically warm weather on Sunday, in some cases exceeding what locals call the "heat barrier" – or 25 degrees Celsius.
 The day’s highest temperature was recorded in Ylivieska in northern Ostrobothnia on Finland’s west coast, where the mercury rose to 26.7 degrees at the local airport. The reading makes it the highest on record for the year so far.
 According to the Finnish Meteorological Institute FMI, Ylivieska sees such high temperatures on average just once in 30 years.
 Altogether afternoon highs passed 25 degrees Celsius in 11 locations in southwest Finland, with the mercury falling just short of the mark in many other places.
 Yle meteorologist  Toni Hellinen  speculated that temperatures could continue to soar on Sunday evening.
 On Sunday FMI had issued warnings for brush fires in northern Finland and for forest fires in the south and southwest.


Nearly 400 psychologists and psychology students have handed a petition to lawmakers involved in government formation talks, demanding that they take measures to combat global climate change.
 The petitioners voiced concern about the anxiety, depression and sense of hopelessness that the future implications of the climate crisis are causing among young people in Finland.
 Psychologists also called on the country make efforts to stem average global temperature increases to a maximum of 1.5 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial levels in order to help protect the mental health of its younger generations.
 The group characterised recent  strikes and demonstrations  by young people as constructive reactions to real concerns about their future.
 The petition was handed over to the five parties involved in ongoing government formation talks at the House of the Estates in Helsinki. Greens MP  Outi Alanko-Kahiluoto  formally accepted the petition on Monday morning.
 "If we do not take the crisis of climate change seriously, it will put considerable pressure on our young people and children who will be forced to bear the consequences of climate change in the future," Alanko-Kahiluoto said.
 Government formation talks  are expected to continue through the week. Head negotiator and chair of the Social Democrats,  Antti Rinne ,has said he wants the discussions to be completed by Friday.


The streak of warm weather in recent days is set to end on Tuesday in many parts of Finland, as locally violent thunderstorms cool temperatures in inland areas of southern and central Finland.
 Yle meteorologist Joonas Koskela says that more than 20 millimetres of rain may fall per hour in some parts. A warning of heavy rain has been issued for Southwest Finland, Southern Ostrobothnia, Central Finland and North Savo.
 "The fiercest thunderstorms will probably be in inland parts of Southwest Finland. The coast will stay dry," he predicts.
 "In the southwest, there are  official warnings  of forest and grassfire risk as well as for heavy rain. The fire warnings will likely be lifted when the rain arrives," Koskela says.
 In northern Finland the weather will be cloudy and quite a bit cooler than in the south.
 T-storms on Wednesday too
 Koskela expects thunderstorms to continue on Wednesday in southern and western parts of the country, starting a few dozen kilometres from the coast.
 "Wednesday will still be quite a warm day, even though temperatures probably won't quite reach the 25-degree [Celsius] mark," he says. Then cooler air will begin to flow down from the north.
 "Thursday's temperatures will max out at around 20 degrees," Koskela predicts.
 Monday has been the warmest day of the year so far.
 Koskela says the hottest places were the western towns of Pori and Kokemäki, where the mercury climbed to 27.6 degrees.


Summery conditions could stage a comeback in some parts of Finland on Saturday, but it is expected to be windy across the country over the weekend, according to Yle meteorologists.
 Most of Finland has seen unsettled conditions all week, but a possible break in the cloud cover could be in store on Saturday, which is graduation day across the country.
 “It’s possible that the clouds will blow over by Saturday, giving the sun a chance to shine in southern and central Finland,” Yle meteorologist  Joonas Koskela  said.
 More rain, too
 A low pressure area will, however, still hang over Lapland on Saturday, bringing scattered showers to northern areas. Another band of rain is moving in from Sweden to western Finland on Saturday.
 Up north temperatures on Saturday will hover between 5-10 degrees Celsius and range from 15-20 degrees in central and southern parts.
 Weather forecasters said they expect temperatures to warm up next week, possibly to Finland’s elusive 25-degree-Celsius heat threshold, should predictions come true.


One of the main graduation days in Finland, Saturday 1 June, will see unsettled weather, according to Yle meteorologist  Matti Huutonen .
 In southern and central Finland the weather will be dry and sunny on Saturday, with clouds and rain showers arriving later in the day.
 "In the afternoon around 3:00pm rain clouds will hover above Åland and the outer archipelago. By 6:00pm the zone of precipitation will reach western Finland," forecasts Huutonen.
 Country's driest spots will be in the north
 Northern Ostrobothnia and Western Lapland will be Finland’s driest places.
 By 9:00pm on Saturday evening showers are expected to hit western and central regions, with southeastern Finland and North Karelia to follow later during the night.
 "Graduation caps will definitely get wet (in eastern Finland)," predicts Huutonen.
 In Northern Lapland on Saturday it will be rainy all day and southern Lapland may see showers in the morning. Meanwhile, southern Lapland and Northern Ostrobothnia will be spared the evening's showers.


Saturday, 1 June is the end of the school year for a majority of primary and upper secondary school students in Finland. Some 560,000 primary schoolers started their summer holidays and 60,000 of them experienced the summer break for the first time, after completing the first grade.
 Upper secondary school graduates receive their traditional white caps on the same day. This year about 25,000 teens graduate high school, while 80,000 finish their vocational school studies. There were roughly 5,000 more vocational graduates in 2019 than one year previously.
 Graduation day weather starts out sunny in much of the country, but rains will move across Finland from the south-west on Saturday evening.
 Weather forecasters said they expect temperatures to warm up next week, possibly to Finland's elusive 25-degree-Celsius heat threshold, should predictions come true.


The weather will heat up significantly by Tuesday across Finland, leaving Monday’s cool conditions behind, according to Yle meteorologist  Kerttu Kotakorpi .
 While temperatures will be in the low 20s at the beginning of the week, the mercury could reach 30 degrees Celsius by the weekend.
 “In some parts of southern and central Finland it could be up to 30C this weekend,” Kotakorpi explained.
 The warm spell will also reach Finnish Lapland, though residents in northernmost Finland can expect highs of 20C, at the most.

 ”But as the air heats up, so does the likelihood of thundershowers,” Kotakorpi explained.
 Pupils across Finland began their first week of summer vacation on Monday.


May brought more rain than usual throughout Finland. The heaviest precipitation came in central and eastern areas as well as parts of southern Lapland, which received more than twice the average rainfall for the month.
 The Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) says that many places around the country received rainfall amounts that occur less than once a decade according to long-term averages. The weather station in Alavus, Southern Ostrobothnia, recorded the highest rainfall amounts since it was set up more than half a century ago.
 Some spots received rainfall totals that typically happen three times a century at most – as scientists note that Finland's weather is gradually becoming wetter due to climate change.
 Wettest in the east
 For the spring season of March through May, precipitation of all types varied from around 70 millimetres in the far north to some 200mm in eastern Finland. There, the municipalities of Lieksa and Savonlinna received the most plentiful rains in 50 years.
 May's biggest rain total, 121.8mm, was measured at Koli National Park in Lieksa, eastern Finland. This hilly area also had the highest total for the three-month period, 220.9mm.
 The heaviest rainfall in a single day was recorded in Sysmä, south-central Finland, where 33.3mm fell on 11 May.
 Meanwhile the driest places in May were in south-western coastal areas and eastern Lapland.
 Heat records in the west, frosty in Lapland
 Mean temperatures for May were close to the long-term average. They were around 8-10 degrees Celsius in southern and central Finland and about 4-8 degrees up north.
 The highest reading of 27.8 degrees was recorded on 20 May in Kokemäki, southwest Finland, matched the following day in Turku's Artukainen district, about 100 km further south.
 The mercury exceeded 25 degrees – "hot" by Finnish standards – somewhere in the country on six days during May. That was twice as many as usual.
 The month's coldest temperature, -11.8 degrees, was measured on 3 May at a weather station on Saana Fell in Kilpisjärvi on the far northwestern border with Norway.


Hot summer temperatures were measured in Finland this week, with a record seasonal high of 32.2 degrees Celsius measured in the northwest coastal city of Oulu on Friday, 7 June.
 Another northwest coastal city was close behind, as 31.1 degrees Celsius was recorded in Kokkola.
 Temperatures that surpassed 30C were also measured in the west coast cities of Vaasa and Pori, as well as the southern inland city of Tampere on Friday.
 Yle meteorologist  Matti Huutonen  tweeted an image of Finland awash with the orange colours that indicate hot temperatures on Friday afternoon.
 The forecast for Saturday and Sunday predicts that the high temperatures will continue through the weekend, with an addition of thunderstorms throughout the country.
 The Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) says storms will develop in the western and central parts of the country in the afternoon and evening. Heavy rains will fall, up to 20 mm per hour in some places, leading to possible flooding. The thunderstorms could bring severe weather to Lapland.
 "The thunderclouds will start to gather at around noon; they could arrive quickly, too," says  Ari Mustala , a FMI meteorologist.
 The hottest temperatures in the country on Saturday will be in eastern areas, where the 30-degree mark is expected to be broken once again. Things are coolest in Lapland, but even there, the mercury will shoot up past 20 degrees.
 Thunderstorms will continue in most areas on Sunday, with temperatures in the low twenties predicted for southern and western areas.


After several warm days, temperatures will cool on Sunday and into next week, says the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI). Meanwhile thunderstorms continue over eastern and northern Finland.
 Repair crews are working on Sunday to fix power outages following bands of thunderstorms on Saturday evening and overnight. According the industry group  Finnish Energy (ET) , the number of households without electricity on Sunday has see-sawed between 1,000 and 6,000, mostly in Pirkanmaa as well as central and eastern Finland. On Saturday evening nearly 20,000 customers were without electricity.
 Lightning bolts struck Finland about 16,000 times on Saturday. Yle meteorologist  Matti Huutonen  says that is a large number for this time of year, equivalent to nearly half of the monthly average for June.
 "Trees may be knocked down"
 On Sunday thundershowers are expected in eastern and northern parts of the country. They are bringing heavy rain and lightning, which may cause damage in Northern Karelia, Kainuu, Northern Savo and Northern Ostrobothnia.
 "Trees may be knocked down by wind gusts," says FMI meteorologist  Hannu Valta .
 Western Finland will be mostly dry and sunny in the afternoon. Central and northern Lapland will shiver with a chilly northeasterly wind and temperatures around 5 degrees Celsius.
 Eastern areas meanwhile may heat up to around 28 degrees as the rest of the country enjoys moderate readings of around 20.
 Snow may create traffic hazard
 Early next week, colder conditions, with a chance of snow in northernmost Finland on Monday afternoon or evening. Snow may accumulate enough to hamper driving conditions on Monday night in northern Lapland, especially as most drivers are using summer tyres.
 Temperatures in southern and central Finland should be near 20 on Monday, and again on Tuesday in the south, while cooler air will move into central areas. Wednesday night may even bring severe frosts to central and northern parts of the country.


The level of toxic blue-green algae in Finnish lakes is presently just slightly above normal for the time of year, but has shown a rise over the past week, reports the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE).
 Sightings have been recorded at 13 monitoring sites in southern parts of the country. However, none of the sightings have been classed as being of considerable or high levels. SYKE adds, though, that there have been four reports from private individuals of blue-green algae blooms in inland waters.
 Unusually warm temperatures at the start of the summer spurred the growth of algae blooms. At present, windy weather is keeping algae mixed with bodies of water.  Kristiina Vuorio , a researcher at SYKE, stated in a press release on Thursday that these same winds may, however, push algae onto shorelines.
 So far there have been no reports of algae blooms in open sea areas.
 Surface temperatures in lakes in southern Finland have fallen to under 20 degrees Celsius. In central regions surface temperatures vary between 12C and 16C. In Finnish Lapland, lake surface temperatures are mostly below 12C.
 Sea waters are also cool, with surface temperatures in open waters at around 15C, slightly warmer in coastal areas. Earlier this month, SYKE warned that  this summer brings with it a substantial risk  of blue-green algae formations in the Gulf of Finland, the northern part of the Baltic Sea.
 Blue-green algae are actually types of cyanobacteria that thrive in warm, nutrient-rich water. People and animals – especially small children and dogs – can become very ill from touching, swallowing or even breathing in water droplets.


Warm air is moving into Finland from the south, raising temperatures across the country.
 Sunday will see sunny conditions nationwide, with the mercury passing the 25-degree-Celsius heat threshold in southern and central parts. Temperatures will gradually creep up as the week progresses.
 Story continues after photo.

 Yle forecasters say sunshine and warm summer weather are in store through the Midsummer holiday weekend (21-23 June) with some on and off scattered showers early in the week.


Daytime highs will soar to 30 degrees Celsius in an area stretching from Lahti in the south to Ilomantsi in the east, according to Yle meteorologist  Toni Hellinen .
 “The last time the 30-degree threshold was surpassed on Midsummer’s Eve was in Lappeenranta in 1999 when meteorologists recorded 32.5 degrees Celsius," Hellinen explained.
 Story continues after picture.

 Eastern and northern Finland can expect the lowest temperatures in the country this evening, with the mercury just around 10C. On Saturday, the weather will cool nationwide from Friday’s highs by five to ten degrees.
 This Midsummer the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) has put a damper on bonfires in southern and central parts of Finland due to a  risk of forest and brush fires .
 Thunderstorms brewing
 On Friday, central areas and Kainuu will see thunderstorms which may produce hail as they proceed towards the northeast. Hellinen also said there’s a chance gusty winds could down power lines.
 According to Hellinen, residents can also expect gusty summer winds on Saturday, particularly in Ostrobothnia.
 Story continues after photo.
 Sultry Midsummer weather is increasing the likelihood of thunderstorms. Antti Aimo-Koivisto / Lehtikuva
 “A rapidly moving thunderstorm is quicker than a car, which is why it’s best to not venture too far out on the water,” Hellinen explained.
 Finland’s Midsummer Eve heat record dates back to 1935 when Ähtäri saw the mercury climb to 33.8 degrees.


Main daily  Helsingin Sanomat  (HS) reports Monday on the 20-percent increase in Interrail passes sold during the first two months of the year, as people increasingly seek out alternative travel modes in response to climate change. Interrail passes enable cross-European travel during a set period of time and are valid on most trains across the continent.
 HS interviews Helsinki-based journalist  Heidi Kalmari , who says she seriously started to consider sustainability issues many years ago while working with another writer on a book about ecological travel.
 “Since then I have tried my best to avoid flying for leisure,” Kalmari tells the paper. “It seems as though many people just fly to European destinations for the weekend because it’s so cheap, for instance as a way to cheer oneself up after a hectic stretch of work. But it’s not very sustainable,” she adds.
 On Monday Kalmari starts her summer holiday with an Interrail trip headed via Stockholm, Hamburg, and Rostock to Berlin with her husband and two children, aged 8 and 10.
 According to HS, Kalmari is one of a growing number of people concerned about climate change who are using alternative forms of transport for travel. State-owned railways VR reports that Interrail pass sales grew 20 percent in January-February alone. This compares to about 6 percent growth for the same time period the previous year. Figures for March onward are not yet available, but it’s very likely that Interrail pass sales will increase in the run-up to summer, says HS.
 VR’s  Salla Ketola , vice president of sales and customer experience, tells HS that she estimates this year more than 7,000 Interrail Passes will be sold, which will break records of previous years. It is, however, still far from the Interrail heyday figures -- in 1986, 20,000 Interrail passes for European trips were sold in Finland.
 HS also goes onto compare the cost, time and CO2 emissions of different of trips such as Helsinki to Berlin. By flying, the trip takes about a little more than two hours and costs 52 euros whereas by boat and train the journey takes just over 32 hours and costs 311 euros.
 Carbon emissions per person for the Helsinki-Berlin flight are 118.6 while for the same trip they are 70.2 by boat and 29.5 by train.
 Celebrating diversity
 Some Helsinki taxis will be wrapped in multi-coloured tape to mark Helsinki Pride week, which begins on Monday writes tabloid  Ilta-Sanomat . This theme of this year’s pride festival is ' ääni ,' (voice in English), which aims to highlight minority rights and attempts to provide a forum for those many voices that are often left unheard.
 One of the week's events includes a panel discussion organised by THL, the Finnish National Institute for Health and Welfare, that will examine whether minority voices are heard in research and surveys compiled by statisticians, writes the tabloid.
 Last year Helsinki Pride drew more than 100,000 people to the annual festival and parade. This year's parade will be held on Saturday. Many other cities and communities are also holding Pride events across the country.
 Stormy weather in store
 Tabloid  Iltalehti  warns readers that heavy rain showers are in store for all of Finland on Wednesday. According to the Finnish Meteorological Institute, warm weather will prevail on Monday and Tuesday with highs of +20 Celsius in southern Finland, but cooler weather and heavy rain showers are coming Wednesday and Thursday.
 "Towards the end of the week the weather especially in the North will cool down," the institute's meteorologist  Jari Tuovinen  tells Iltalehti.


The main strawberry harvest season is just beginning, says the farming organisation ProAgria. So far this summer's weather has offered ideal growing conditions, so producers expect a large, high-quality crop of the berries, which are considered an  emblem of the Finnish summer .
 ProAgria says that strawberries are very sweet this summer thanks to the sunny weather and temperature variations. However significant rainfall is needed in southern Finland to ensure a good harvest, as plants have begun to suffer from dryness.
 New potatoes at their best
 Farmers in the south and along the southwestern coast are now gathering strawberries grown under nets or fabric, while open-air berries will soon be ready for picking.
 Strawberry harvesting is also getting underway this week in other parts of southern and central Finland. The main harvest is expected to begin in earnest during the first week of July.
 Harvesting conditions for new potatoes and other early vegetables are also reaching their best. In general, crops in southern Finland are more than a week ahead of the average schedule, with those in the east and north on a normal timetable.


As most of the rest of Europe suffers record heat, Finland's weather is quite different. On Saturday, wet snow fell around 4 pm in the village of Kilpisjärvi. It's located in the municipality of Enontekiö at the top of Finnish Lapland's northwestern arm, close to the borders with Norway and Sweden.
 There was little accumulation from the flurry, which was recorded by a traffic camera on European route E8, a road that extends from Turku, southwest Finland, up to Tromsø, northern Norway, also known as the Four Winds' Road. Near the village, the route reaches an elevation of 565.8 metres, the highest point in the Finnish road system.
 Yle meteorologist  Matti Huutonen  says that sleet or snow is not uncommon in the far north-west of the country during the summer, falling about once a month on average.
 "Kilpisjärvi is so high up, right next to the Norwegian mountains, that cold air comes down from the Arctic Sea, which sometimes condenses and falls as snow or sleet," he explains.
 Kilpisjärvi's daily mean temperature in June is 7.5 degrees Celsius. From October through April, the mean temperature remains below freezing.
 Huutonen says that unsettled, cool weather is in store for Lapland this week, so hikers and campers should prepare for all kinds of conditions.
 -2.4 C in Jyväskylä
 The chilly weather is not restricted to Finnish Lapland. There was frost early Saturday as far south as Jyväskylä where the temperature sank to -2.4, the same as in Kainuu. Meanwhile Salla, eastern Lapland, reported readings of -2.9.
 Warmer weather is set to flow into southern Finland on Monday, with temperatures expected to reach the 25-degree mark in the southeast. Nights may be uncomfortably warm and humid.
 The northwestern arm will however remain wet and chilly, with temperatures remaining in the single digits.
 On Friday, France reached its highest recorded temperature ever, 45.9 degrees Celsius. At least six deaths in southern Europe have been attributed to the heatwave.


Hailstones rained down on the south-eastern city of Lappeenranta on Monday evening, turning it from a summery green to a wintry white. Local resident  Janna Airas  recorded the wild weather for posterity.
 According to Yle meteorologist  Matti Huutonen , the seemingly unseasonal weather was not at all unusual. He noted that thunderstorms and hail often go together.
 "There are always hailstones in thunderclouds. Now they have been so large, that they have not had time to melt before hitting the ground," he explained.
 While yesterday’s thundery weather in the southeast has now migrated toward Russia, a new low-pressure zone moved over the west on Monday night, bringing more thunderstorms across the country. However Huutonen said that he did not expect more hail.
 Finnish news agency STT reported that Monday’s wild weather resulted in many calls for emergency service workers in Lappeenranta, as residents struggled to repair damage caused by the hail.
 Lightning strikes hit buildings, one person
 In Koli, eastern Finland, rescue services were also put to the test during violent thundershowers that plagued the region on Monday evening.
 Lightning strikes started a fire at an old school building at Niinilahdentie. The building, which was being used for accommodation, held 14 people at the time, however no one was reported injured.
 Meanwhile another explosive lightning bolt struck an oil container igniting a fire that spread to the cellar of a building on the property and badly damaged the structure. Other parts of the building that were used for residential purposes were spared from serious damage. Work continued late into the night to extinguish the blaze and residents were evacuated.
 Lightning also struck and mildly injured one individual in the Mäkränaho outdoor area. The patient was taken to the North Karelia central hospital for treatment. Meanwhile the electrical discharges also set a small cottage on fire on an island in the Koli region, completely destroying the structure. No one was injured.
 The violent storm also caused a malfunction in the Koli Sokos Hotel’s fire alarm system.


Twenty people in Finland drowned in June, according to preliminary figures from the Finnish Swimming Teaching and Lifesaving Federation (FSL) - more than twice the number of people who drowned in June of last year.
 FSL attributed the number of drownings to the warmer weather the country briefly experienced last month. The group said that the last time that Finland had seen as many drownings in June was during a heatwave in 2013.
 The group said that far too often, people head onto the water when they're drinking alcohol and don't use life preservers, saying that half of last month's drowning victims had been intoxicated.
 "A large number of these drownings could have been avoided if people used the proper life jackets, took the weather into account and otherwise be aware of the risks of being on the water," FSL communications specialist  Niko Nieminen  said.
 Five of the victims had drowned during the long Midsummer holiday weekend, and at least 15 of all of the victims were male, according to the FSL.
 Nine of the drowning occurred as the victims were swimming, five drowned in boating incidents and one had fallen into the water. The circumstances of the remaining five vicitms remained unclear, the federation said on Thursday.
 According to preliminary statistics, a total of 44 people drowned during the first half of this year.
 In June of last year, nine people drowned and the total number of drowning victims during the first half of 2018 was 28.


The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry  announced on Thursday  that it would redouble its efforts to protect the endangered Saimaa ringed seal after  reports of dead pups  arose earlier in the week.
 Daily  Aamulehti wrote  that the ministry will establish a new working group in August to step up protection for the animal, which is unique to Finland's Saimaa lake system. The ministry said the group intends to deliver a plan to survey and restrict fishing activities in the ringed seal's habitat by 2021, when the current restriction expires.
 An annual springtime ban on net fishing in the heartland of  the endangered species  begins on 15 April and is lifted on the last day of June. According to AL the corpses of four Saimaa ringed seal pups were found tangled in fishing nets in early July, one week after this year's prohibition ended.
 "This is extremely sad," Ministry of Agriculture spokesperson  Jari Leppä  told AL. "None of us wants to see any more dead pups."
 Ordinary citizens have reacted to the seal deaths by pushing for a year-round ban on the use of fishing nets in seal habitats. In just two days (at time of writing) more than 37,000 people had signed a  citizens' initiative to completely outlaw net fishing  in such regions. Legal reforms introduced in 2011 require Finland's Parliament to consider initiatives with at least 50,000 signatures.
 Bare naked ladies against body shaming
 In other activist news,  tabloid Iltalehti  covers a form of civil protest that is still new to Finland: a bare-chested flash mob of women and men demanding that everyone should have the right to walk around topless in public.
 The prime movers of the first such demonstration in early June,  Säde Vallaren  and  Sandra Marins , announced that the second ever Finnish "boob flash mob" will be organised at the Hietaniemi beach on Saturday.
 Both activists said in IL that the first ever such flash mob at the same location was "empowering, calm, beautiful and sisterly".
 "There was an almost magical atmosphere," said Marins. "It was amazing to see the range of emotions people were experiencing."
 Vallaren said that even though both organisers have received trolling messages and threats, no counter-protesters were to be seen at the beach demo. Police, too, were briefly on site but did not intervene, according to IL.
 The paper also mentions blogger  Emilia Huttunen , who made international headlines by posting a social media photo of herself naked, but with her husband's nipples edited over the image in a bid to bypass the censorship of online platforms.
 Vallaren and Marins said that after Saturday the next flash mob could take place at the Helsinki Central Railway Station, an environment they say may turn out to be very different to the warmth of sandy Hietaniemi. Both said their work to quell the "shock value" of women's bodies has only just begun.
 "We won't stop until people are no longer upset by a woman's naked breasts," they said.
 Finland getting "unlucky" weather
 Beaches in southern Finland will likely stay quite empty over the weekend, as the weather takes a wet and dramatic turn.
 Daily Helsingin Sanomat  wrote that two fronts of warm air will bypass Finland, causing temperature dips and dozens of millimetres of torrential rainfall.
 "Some regions may experience a full month's rain in just this one weekend," Foreca meteorologist  Markus Mäntykangas  told HS.
 He said that such fluctuations are common in Finland's brief summer months. The current cold slump may last for another week, but Mäntykangas said the return of warmer conditions are just a matter of time.
 "People in Finland are unlucky right now. There's time still for sweltering days all the way into September."


No new wind energy farms have begun operations in Finland since 2017, yet the amount of electricity produced with the wind has risen briskly over the past year, the Uutissuomalainen newspaper group reports on Friday.
 The industry group Finnish Energy says that wind power production rose by almost 30 percent between May 2018 and May this year. That output is set to rise as a number of new wind turbines are currently being built in Finland.
 Production subsidies are only granted to wind farms that began producing electricity by the end of 2017. However wind energy is no longer dependent on subsidies for financially viability.
 "Production costs have dropped so sharply that a lot of wind power capacity is being installed without subsidies," says  Anna Mikkonen , CEO of the Finnish Wind Power Association (FWPA). She points out that some of the turbines that became eligible for subsidies as they were completed by the end of 2017 did not actually get up to full output until sometime last year.
 The trade body's figures show that cumulative installed wind energy capacity has risen from nearly nothing a decade ago to 500 megawatts (MW) in 2013, then surpassing 2,000 MW last year. That is still far behind neighbouring Sweden, which had more than 7,500 MW installed by the end of last year, according to Wind Power Monthly.
 The number of installed turbines has climbed from just over 100 in 2009 to 700 last year. Their average size has also increased steadily, now around 3 MW each. The heaviest concentration of turbines is in North Ostrobothnia in western Finland, which accounts for 42 percent of all capacity. The municipalities of Kalajoki and Raahe are hotbeds of wind power, with nearly 400 MW of capacity between them.
 As of the end of last year, wind power accounted for 6.7 percent of Finland's electricity consumption.
 Climate change brings brisker breezes
 The  Finnish Wind Atlas  site, established by the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI), notes that average wind speeds in Finland are gradually rising as a result of climate change. Meteorologists and those in the wind power sector agree that the past year has been windier than the year before.
 For instance, in February the weather station at Helsinki Airport recorded average winds of 5.9 metres per second, compared to the long-term average of 4.1 m/s. In June the corresponding figures were 4.9 and 3.8 m/s. The winter months tend to be windier than summer in Finland.
 "When the weather is dominated by low-pressure systems, the average wind speed is normally higher than in high-pressure conditions," explains FMI meteorologist  Niina Niinimäki .
 At the start of this year, the FMI clocked the  highest wind speed ever recorded  in Finland, 32.5 m/s. It was tracked on 2 January at Bogskär, just off the island of Kökar in the maritime province of Åland between mainland Finland and Sweden. That was just under the hurricane level of 33 m/s.
 Sometimes gales can be too much of a good thing for wind turbines. When winds begin to approach 30 m/s, most wind park operators phase turbines out of use in order to prevent damage. However this has rarely been necessary in Finland.


Three times more people in Finland take holidays in July than any other month.
 Nella Nuora / Yle
 The average Finnish household spends 1,300 euros during a month of vacation, or about 65 euros a day.
 Nella Nuora / Yle
 The weather is statistically optimum during the school holidays (June through early/mid-August). If the dates were shifted to later as some suggest, there would be more rainy days on average.
 Nella Nuora / Yle
 Strawberries symbolise the Nordic summer. Studies indicate they can slow ageing and support coronary health.
 Nella Nuora / Yle
 Did you know that there are about 200 seeds on the surface of each strawberry?
 Nella Nuora / Yle
 Even in the shade, your skin is exposed to half the UV radiation on a bright day.
 Sunblock is always recommended, but especially if your shadow appears longer than your body.
 Nella Nuora / Yle
 Ice cream was first made from snow and fruit juice in China 3,000 years ago.
 Nella Nuora / Yle
 Each year, the average person in Finland eats over 12 litres of ice cream – more than a bucketful.
 Nella Nuora / Yle
 Can you swim? One in three adults in Finland cannot.
 Nella Nuora / Yle
 If you can swim 200 metres, 50 of those on your back, you're officially classified as being able to swim.
 Nella Nuora / Yle
 One in 10 people in Finland owns a summer cottage. Only six percent of them are under 40, though.
 Nella Nuora / Yle
 Some 130,000 lightning-bolts strike the country each year, but only six people have been killed by lightning since 2000.
 Nella Nuora / Yle
 What's the world's shortest joke? The Finnish summer. That's why the locals treasure each day of it.


Halfway through the month, temperatures during July have stubbornly remained more than three degrees Celsius below long-term averages. Visitors and residents alike have likely noticed Finland's wet, chilly weather, particularly compared to last summer.
 "This can safely be called an unusually cold start to July," said  Niina Niinimäki  from the Finnish Meteorological Society (FMI).
 July has been  unusually cool , with highs barely reaching 20 degrees Celsius.
 July of last year saw the  highest-ever temperatures recorded  by the FMI. Midway through the month, weather stations were regularly reporting temperatures exceeding 30 degrees Celsius across much of the country.
 However, some say there are a number of positive aspects to the current chill Finland is experiencing.
 Exercise, training easier
 Those who enjoy regular exercise, like endurance athletes, get more out of their training sessions when it isn't sweltering hot.
 Cross-country ski coach for the Finnish national team  Ville Oksanen  said that heart rates tend to spike when it's too warm.
 While Central European skiers are forced to hit the track in blistering heat, Finland's female skiers are able to train in the brisk air of Rovaniemi, Finnish Lapland, where temperatures hovered around 16 degrees on Monday.
 Story continues after photo.
 Women's national cross-country skiing team coach Ville Oksanen. Anu Karttunen / Yle
 "It's been way too warm in Central Europe these days, it might affect the training regimen," said Oksanen. "Although they do have mountains where they can train in cooler environments."
 On the other hand Oksanen said he prefers "summer to be summer" and that he likes cold winters, too.
 Lower heatstroke risk
 The chilly summer has also been a relief to many pensioners and chronically ill patients. Excessive heat doesn't just make things uncomfortable for seniors, it can be life-threatening. Last summer,  when temperatures were far higher , nearly 400 heatstroke-related deaths, mostly of the elderly, were reported across the country.
 Cousins  Toini Inkeröinen , 90, and  Elsa Kiviniemi , 93, said they were enjoying the this summer's cool temperatures in Rovaniemi.
 "You get dizzy and sweaty and you're too tired to do anything," Kiviniemi explained.
 Story continues after photo.
 The elderly face serious health risks when it gets hot. Pixabay
 Now, with the lower temperatures, the elderly and others sensitive to the heat can freely enjoy simple activities like taking walks outdoors.
 "There's a nice little jogging track that the city built for us old folks," said Inkeröinen. "It's only 300-400 metres long. Sometimes we walk farther and have a rest on the bus station benches."
 Cows produce more milk
 High heat is also no friend of domestic animals. A year ago the heat wave forced some dog-owners to walk their canines at night, after the air and asphalt had cooled down.
 Cattle also do better in cool conditions; cows produce 10-15 percent more milk when it's cool outside, according to Rovaniemi farmer  Matti Pöykkö.
 Story continues after photo.
 Research cows in Minkiö, Jokioinen. Riitta Tapiomäki / Yle
 "I'd say about 10 degrees Celsius is optimal for a cow," Pöykkö said. "When it's hot they stay inside in the shade and try not to move or eat much."
 In fact, Pöykkö said the summer has been unusually good to him.
 "There'll be so much to harvest that I wonder if I'll get to it all. Which is great after a few more difficult years. But I do wish us humans could get some heat after enduring the long winter."


Daily  Helsingin Sanomat (HS)  leads with a slightly tongue-in-cheek editorial entitled 'The Majority of People Don’t Hate Anybody.' Although there is much talk about hate speech these days, according to HS the majority of people living in Finland can’t or don’t want to name any one person who makes them cranky or angry.
 "This is good news," writes the paper, citing a survey carried out by communications agency Tekir and research consultants Kantar that interviewed people in Finland about who makes them cross. Respondents were allowed to name three people.
 HS says it wasn’t surprising that the list was topped by politicians, especially those who have recently been in the headlines. The most disliked on the list were former PM  Juha Sipilä  (Centre Party), current prime minister  Antti Rinne  (Social Democratic Party), and Finns Party leader  Jussi Halla-aho .
 Kone’s biggest deal ever
 Financial newspaper  Taloussanomat  reports that Finland-based global elevator firm Kone is reportedly considering a 16 billion euro business deal, which according to an analyst would be the most significant deal the firm has ever made.
 Taloussanomat writes that German industrial giant Thyssenkrupp is said to be preparing to sell off its elevator business, as was reported earlier in July, and that one of the purchaser candidates is Kone. Kone has not commented on the rumours.
 According to Taloussanomat, if Kone does acquire Thyssenkrupp’s elevator business, it would be one of the largest business deals in Finnish business history.
 All up to Barry
 Tabloid  Ilta-Sanomat  reports that Hurricane Barry holds the key to what type of weather Finland will have for the rest of the summer: Will warm, sunny weather return or will cooler temperatures prevail?
 All of Europe is dependent on Barry, which has raged over the western states in the US and is currently gathering strength in the Gulf of Mexico. Now, the powerful storm is moving through the northern parts of the US towards the Atlantic.
 “The hurricane will likely shake up the world’s greater weather picture. Next week may bring weather surprises,” predicts Foreca meteorologist  Jenna Salminen  in an interview with the tabloid.
 Europe may also see another heatwave as the Mediterranean and central Europe are forecast to receive another heatwave with more than 40-degree Celsius temperatures like those the region saw in June.
 So, far Finland has not been embraced by the sizzling temperatures this summer, and not long ago it seemed that the small Nordic country would not be affected by the hot temperatures. However, that looks set to change.
 “Now it looks as though the heatwave will also stretch into Finland,” Salminen tells the paper, saying it will bring warm, humid weather and thunderstorms.


From Helsinki all the way up to Lapland, the mercury will rise well into the mid-20s next week.
 For southwestern Finland temperatures of +27 degrees are in store, while in Lapland the forecast predicts +25 degrees in Kittilä and +24 degrees in Inari, according to Yle meteorologist  Matti Huutonen .
 ”Heat wave temperatures will be measured from the beginning of the week all the way up to Lapland,” predicts Huutonen.
 On Monday, from the southwest a zone of precipitation will approach, but it will dissipate before it reaches mainland Finland. Light rain is also expected in the archipelago.
 After Tuesday, Huutonen says he can’t promise anything for certain.
 On Wednesday it may rain in central and northern Finland.
 “The details are uncertain. Wednesday does look like it will see a zone of rain that goes across central and northern Finland,” he says.


Residential renters may be eligible for partial rent reimbursement if their homes get uncontrollably hot, according to the Finnish Landlord Association, a group which supports landlords and real-estate investors.
 The group said that tenants may be entitled to discounts on their rents if their homes are warmer than 32 degrees Centigrade.
 The association also noted that tenants are entitled to rent reductions if their apartment is in poor condition, and that excessive heat qualifies for discounts.
 An appropriate rent reduction in a high-heat situation would range between 10-20 percent of the rental price, according to the association.
 However, an association board member and real estate investor,  Riitta Kokki , said that she's never heard of a single case where a tenant demanded a rent decrease due to excessive heat in her 30 years of being a landlord.
 A/C likely more common
 But, as temperatures across the country continue to rise, Kokki said if tenants feel their flats are uncontrollably warm, they should contact their landlords.
 "They should be able to prove in some way that the apartment is really hot. Then they could negotiate and see how the matter is handled, and whether something can be done about the heat," Kokki said.
 In the longer term, Kokki said that landlords will likely begin to offer air conditioners as part of rental agreements in the homes they rent out.
 According to Finnish law, the maximum temperature a residential dwelling is permitted to reach is 32 degrees Celsius. The same temperature applies to day care centres, schools and other educational institutions.
 Meanwhile, senior citizen service and retirement homes are permitted to reach a maximum of 30 degrees in the summer. During winter, the maximum air temperature level drops to 26 degrees.
 Temperatures set to rise
 Meteorologists expect that temperatures could breach 30 degrees Celsius on Friday in some areas of the country and that the weekend will be even warmer across Finland.
 The Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) has issued heat advisories across much of the country all week, and has issued a heat wave warning in southern Finland for Friday and Saturday.
 The FMI's heat warnings are largely directed at those particularly sensitive to high temperatures, including the chronically ill and the elderly.
 However, the institute warned that high heat can also limit the capabilities of people in good health.


The tabloid Iltalehti starts the week with news of  relief from the heat , as temperatures are set to cool down considerably this week. The change will be particularly dramatic in Lapland. Rovaniemi basked in 30 degree temperatures on Saturday, but on Monday, a high of only 11 degrees Celsius is predicted.
 This past weekend Finland got a taste of the hot conditions Europe and the US have been enduring this summer, although the "record temperatures" charted on Sunday in the south still look small compared to heatwaves exceeding 40 degrees Celsius in Paris and New York.
 The Finnish Meteorological Institute tweeted that historic heat records were set on Sunday at measurement stations in Helsinki's Kaisaniemi, the cities of Kaarina, Salo, Lohja and the Åland Islands.
 IL reports that the summer's hottest temperature to date – 33.7 degrees Celsius – was also measured in Finland's southern city of Porvoo.
 Today marks 2019's Earth Overshoot Day
 The Jyväskylä paper Keskisuomalainen  reports  on  Earth Overshoot Day , the day when humanity’s demand for ecological resources and services in a given year exceeds what Earth can regenerate in that year.
 This year the world reached its overshoot day today – 29 July – two days earlier than last year. The paper reports that  Finland already exceeded its share of the Earth's natural resources in early April . At the time, the WWF said the world would need 3.8 planets if everyone in the world consumed resources at the rate Finns do.
 Finland  hosted an informal meeting of EU environment and climate ministers in mid-July that focused on expanding the circular economy to mitigate climate change and halt the loss of biodiversity. The paper cites a Ministry of the Environment press release from today that says quickly cutting down on consumption is the only solution. The Ministry points out that of the 80 billion tones of natural resources that the population consumes each year, only nine percent is reused or recycled.
 Fast-forward heating in the Gulf of Bothnia
 In a similar vein, the country's most widely-read daily Helsingin Sanomat carries a story on how  climate change is projected to warm up the Gulf of Bothnia faster than the rest of the Baltic Sea .
 Among other things, HS ponders how increasing temperatures in the waters that separate Finland and Sweden will affect the area's shipping and fish farming industries, wind power projects, coastal residences and tourism.
 Markku Viitasalo  from the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE) is part of a six-year  SmartSea  research project that includes 40 researchers from Finland and Sweden studying sustainable use of the Finland’s marine resources.
 "The Baltic Sea is like a miniature model, compared to the big oceans, so everything happens faster and more dramatically there. This is why it's a good research topic for analyzing the shape and dynamics of the changes," Viitasalo tells HS.
 He further informs the paper that climate change will bring more rain, which will further dilute the saline content of the Baltic. This will change the fauna and flora of the sea, prompting some native species to move farther north and allow invasive species to move in.
 Putin floats off the western coast
 Other news from the Baltic Sea comes from Russia today, as the state news agency TASS  reports  that Russian President  Vladimir Putin  dove to the bottom of the Gulf of Finland this weekend in a bathyscaphe (self-propelled submersible). The Russian leader inspected the remains of a Shch-308 Semga submarine that sank off the Finnish island of Utö during WWII. During the operation, divers placed a plaque on the site of the wreck and observed a moment of silence in tribute to the killed submariners.
 White nights end in the north
 And the Turku-based newspaper Turun Sanomat finishes with annual  news  of the 24-hour daylight in the north period officially coming to an end for this summer.
 The "nightless nights" of Finland's (and the EU's) northernmost municipality of Utsjoki came to a close when the sun dipped below the horizon for the first time since 17 May late Saturday night.
 It didn't go away for long, however. The sun officially set at 0:46 am, but rose again at 1:52 am.
 The paper writes that in the village of Nuorgam, the northernmost village in the Utsjoki municipality, the "Midnight Sun" phenomenon won't end until tonight. The sun will set there for the first time in almost three months at 0:42 am.


July 2019 will be remembered for breaking records for both freezing nights and blistering days at Finland's meteorological measuring stations. The equipment at Ylivieska airport measured a nighttime low temperature of -1.7 degrees Celsius, while Porvoo's Emäsalo station clocked in at 33.7 degrees Celsius in the daytime – the highest temperature ever recorded at that site.
 The Finnish Meteorological Institute's longest-running observation hub in Kaisaniemi, Helsinki also broke its previous record high as the July sun bore down, raising the air temperature to 33.2 degrees Celsius.
 Temperatures of more than 25 degrees were observed on only 13 days, which is three days below the long-term average.
 Subzero summer temperatures were also frequent in Finland, with seven frosty nights measured at the Möksy station in Southern Ostrobothnia, western Finland.
 Lake waters were very warm -- until they weren't. Jari Kovalainen / Yle
 FMI data shows that July was also drier than usual, with between 1 and 90 mm of rainfall collected. Central and northern regions experienced the least rain in 30 years.
 Not only that, but the swimming waters in lake-rich Finland have also begun to cool down extremely quickly.
 Measurements taken from Pääjärvi lake in Karstula, Central Finland showed surface temperatures of 26 degrees on Sunday; on Wednesday the temperature had plummeted to just 16 degrees Celsius.
 The hotter days in July initially warmed surface waters to the balmy twenties, but August lake temperatures have quickly fallen below long-term averages.


Main daily  Helsingin Sanomat (HS)  reports that Vero, the Finnish Tax Administration, sent the wrong tax information to 60,000 people in Finland on Tuesday.
 Many of the notices sent out contained other customer’s personal information including their social security numbers, according to  Jarkko Levasma , chief development and information officer at the Finnish Tax Administration.
 “On August 6 we sent out about 60,000 letters. At this point we need to assume that they all contain mistakes,” Levasma told HS.
 Levasma said that tens of people have contacted the Tax Administration regarding the matter. He told HS that while the majority of the letters sent out related to personal tax matters, there may be some businesses ones in the mix as well.
 HS writes that Levasma said it's not known how the error originated: “We’re looking into the matter and for the time being have halted sending letters. We ask those who have received the incorrect information to destroy the letters they received.”
 The politics of teaching
 “Being an MP was easier than teaching,” according to former MP  Tuula Peltonen  in an  Iltalehti  tabloid lead story on her return to being a teacher -- a career that she is now considering leaving.
 Peltonen was an MP from 2007 to 2015 for the Social Democratic Party, and said that when she returned to teaching two years ago, she quickly realised that “things had changed, and not in a good way."
 Iltalehti writes that Peltonen, who works as a special needs education teacher in Jämsä, noticed that municipalities were trying to cut back on everything, including special needs.
 When Peltonen was an MP, she supported the idea that special needs students should attend regular classes at a local school, be provided with support, and that there should a limited number of special needs students in one classroom.
 “Municipalities discovered that savings could be made without hiring special needs teachers and leaving the work to the class teacher,” says Peltonen, who told the newspaper that although she hasn’t made a decision yet, she’s considering a career change.
 Downpour on the way
 Ilta-Sanomat , the sister tabloid of Helsingin Sanomat, reports that the Finnish Meteorological Institute has issued a heavy rainfall warning for Friday, with some parts of the country set to receive 20 millimetres of rain per hour.
 Southwestern parts of Finland will be hit by rain and thunderstorms, which may spread to other parts of the country. The Finnish Meteorological Institute has also issued heavy rainfall warnings for the Uusimaa, Satakunta, Kanta-Häme and Pirkanmaa regions.
 On Thursday, in Pori on Finland's west coast, it rained 34.7 millimetres per hour, causing flooding of streets and basements.


In Finnish homes an average of every tenth slice of bread, piece of fruit or vegetable ends up in the garbage bin, according to the consumer magazine Kuluttuja’s Hävikkiviikko website.
 Often the reason is simple: a tomato dries out, a piece of bread goes stale, a pack of sausages reaches its expiration date, or too much food is made and then ends up being thrown out.
 On an international scale, according to the report released on Thursday by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) each of us throws out an average of 20 to 25 kilos of food a year on average. Food waste is no small matter, points out the report.
 Globally, food waste is estimated to be at 1.3 billion tonnes a year.
 Domestic figures
 In Finland, six percent of food purchased for home consumption ends up as waste.
 All told, Finnish households throw out 120 to 160 million kilos of food annually, which places a burden on both the production chain and the waste chain.
 For Europeans and North Americans, the typical average is 95 to 115 kilos a year. In Asia and Africa that figure is 6 to 11 kilos.
 The food chain accounts for more than a quarter of global warming greenhouse gas emissions, while one third of primary production ends up being wasted, the report concludes.


Finland's biggest selling daily Helsingin Sanomat carries a report on how  police may have left up to 2,000 tip-offs  about sexual crimes against children unopened in an "email inbox somewhere".
 According to HS, Finnish police were slow to react when people began reporting evidence of online sex crimes against children a number of years ago, and did not allocate enough resources to properly deal with the sudden influx of reports.
 "What happened in Finland was that when these things started to grow on the web a few years ago, those tips and messages were left somewhere in an email inbox. And we only had two people in the department who ever opened them," commissioner  Sari Sarani  of the police's cybercrimes unit told HS.
 However, according to Sarani, the police's practices for recording warnings about the targeting of children online has now changed, with more staff than ever currently handling on the reports and investigating of such cases.
 Sarani also told HS that the police urge the public's assistance in tackling sexual crimes against children.
 Location of slot machines under review
 Tabloid Iltalehti reports on the decision by Finland's gaming monopoly Veikkaus to "quietly"  remove eight slot machines from sites  which may have been deemed inappropriate.
 The gambling firm has been under considerable pressure recently to review the location of some of its machines, as a citizens' initiative calling for their removal from shops and kiosks has now  garnered more than 25,000 signatures .
 According to IL, some of the vending machines which have now been removed were located in shops or cafes connected to hospitals and rehabilitation centres. The tabloid, in a previous report, had raised concerns that certain medication may contribute to gambling addiction.
 Marko Peltokorpi , director of sales at Veikkaus, told IL that the firm is reviewing the practice of placing slot machines near to hospitals, health clinics and rehabilitation centres.
 "Veikkaus' point of sale criteria states that slot machines should not be placed in premises where the clientele consists mainly of minors," Peltokorpi told the tabloid. "This paragraph has now been interpreted as also extending to locations whose main clientele consists of the sick and elderly."
 Here comes the sun
 HS's sister tabloid Ilta-Sanomat reports that the recent turbulent weather is expected to  take a turn for the better , as a high pressure system will bring the sun back to Finland this weekend.
 "The eastern part of the country will be largely clear and sunny on Saturday,"  Iiris Viljamaa , a meteorologist at the Finnish Meteorological Institute tells IS. "Temperatures should rise to at least 23-24 degrees Celsius."
 Central and southern areas can also expect similar conditions, according to Viljamaa, and she advises people to make the most of the mellow conditions while they lasts.
 Immediately after the weekend, the wind, rain and unstable weather will return to Finland.
 Therefore, the tabloid advises, this weekend is an ideal time to start picking mushrooms and berries in the rain-soaked forest, or even just to get outside and enjoy the sunshine, as it may be the last opportunity to do so this summer.


A low pressure front is expected to hover over Finland this week, bringing rain and thunderstorms.
 "Although we'll see plenty of showers and even some lightning storms, there will still be times when the sun is peaking out," says Yle meteorologist  Seija Paasonen .
 Temperatures in southern and central areas may rise as high as 20 degrees Celsius, while they will likely peak in the teens in the north.
 Paasonen says that the coming week will give Finns another reason to look to the skies, as meteor showers may be visible at night. The Perseids are meteor showers associated with the comet Swift–Tuttle, and are called Perseids because the point from which they appear to hail (called the radiant) lies in the constellation Perseus.
 Warm nights with no chance of frost
 "On Monday, there will be rain and thunderstorms in southern and central Finland. Tomorrow the thunderstorms will move towards western Finland," Paasonen says.
 Less rainfall is expected in Lapland than in other parts of the country, but it will be cloudy in the north.
 "Fortunately, there is no chance of frost as we will have warm, humid nights. There will also be fog. It looks great in the evening when it gets cooler, and there is still some in the morning."
 According to Paasonen, daytime temperatures are about average for this time of year, but the nights are slightly warmer.
 Towards the end of the week the air mass is expected to cool down, but temperatures may still reach 20 degrees in some areas. Light drizzles are likely over the weekend.


Main daily  Helsingin Sanomat (HS)  reports on  state railway VR’s continuing problems with dirty trains . In recent months, passengers have made numerous complaints about unclean cabins, posting pictures of untidy play areas and filthy floors on social media including VR’s Facebook community page.
 HS interviews commuter  Liisa Lesonen , who traveled from Helsinki to Vaasa in the business cabin of an InterCity train last Saturday. According to Lesonen, the train’s floor was dusty and muddy.
 "There was all kinds of garbage under the benches and the train’s bathroom smelled terrible, even from a few metres away," Lesonen told the paper. "Their train compartments used to be much cleaner. These days I don’t even want to put my bag on the floor," she said.
 After VR put their cleaning contract up for competitive tender, the job of keeping the fleet neat went from contractor SOL to RTK in June.
 At the time, VR’s operative director  Vesa Pippuri  told HS that there had been some challenges with the transition of service providers, but that they were working to smooth things out.
 However, more than a month on, there is little improvement in the situation, writes HS. Among the issues, customers have been dismayed about the state of the morning’s first trains, which are so dirty that it appears they haven't been cleaned.
 Unexpected discovery
 Ilta-Sanomat (IS) , the sister tabloid of HS, reports that a body was discovered on Thursday on the roof of a train in Vantaa, just north of Helsinki.
 Around 6 pm, train traffic was halted at the Louhela station. The rescue department told IS that a body was spotted atop a train at the station.
 "The rescue department went to retrieve the body and found that the person had passed away,"  Raimo Laakso , the fire chief on duty told IS. The incident led to widespread train delays and cancellations throughout the capital region.
 Police are investigating the matter.
 On a lighter note
 And just in time for the weekend, tabloid  Iltalehti  reports that the weather in Finland will warm up gradually over the next few days, with sunshine in the east and rain in the north.
 It will be clear in the country’s western regions, according to the Finnish Meteorological Institute. Although there will be some clouds and rain showers, temperatures will be between 18 and 21 degrees Celsius throughout most of Finland.


Heavy downpours hit the capital region on Friday morning, causing transport disruptions and delayed opening hours. Water flowed into tunnels and buildings, hampering morning commutes and closing roads and buildings.
 Yle meteorologist  Matti Huutonen  says that more plentiful rains are moving in from the southwest in the afternoon.
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 Rescue workers pumped water out of a building on Mikonkatu. Antti Aimo-Koivisto / Lehtikuva
 "I wouldn't be surprised if today brings the whole monthly average of rain," Huutonen said in the early afternoon.
 Helsinki usually gets 70-80 millimetres of rain during August. Friday morning alone brought 56 mm of water to Kaisaniemi Park, where the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) has a weather station.
 Tunnels under train station flooded
 With many roads and tunnels flooded, the Helsinki Region Transport (HSL) reported many delays.
 In the early afternoon it said that Metro trains were not running between the Ruoholahti and Helsinki University stations, a stretch that includes the Central Railway Station stop, which suffered significant flooding.
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 Metro platforms were awash in downtown Helsinki. Ulla Malminen / Yle
 Metro trains are running to the east and west of the city centre, but at irregular intervals and skipping some stops. Service may be disrupted until around midnight, HSL says.
 As a replacement, the Lauttasaari buses 20 and 21 are driving directly to the Kamppi terminal, skipping the Bulevardi and Eira segments of their routes.
 The Helsinki Rescue Department says that worst hit by the morning floods were the Metro stop under the Railway Station and the nearby Eliel underground parking garage, where water was up to a metre and a half deep.
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 Many cars were stranded or submerged in the Eliel parking garage.  Kustaa Valtonen
 Rescue workers were still pumping out water in the afternoon. During the morning the department tackled water damage at 27 sites, included overflowing sewers and flooded cellars.
 The Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art said that its exhibition areas would not open until 3 pm due to water damage. The Kaari shopping mall in Kannelmäki was partly closed, with escalators and lifts at a standstill.
 Fuel spill and slippery roads
 In Helsinki's Pikku Huopalahti neighbourhood, pedestrian walkways were impassible due a stream overflowing its banks. On Varikkotie, a cloudburst knocked over a 3,000-litre fuel tank at a construction site, spilling some of the contents.
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 Water spurted out of a sewage pipe in Ruoholahti. Pasi Rein / Lehtikuva
 The FMI warns of more heavy rain, with an additional 50 mm possible, and a risk of hydroplaning on road surfaces in the Uusimaa region, especially in underpasses and lower elevations.
 It also issued a wind warning for the Gulf of Finland, with southwesterly gale force winds of 15 metres per second in the afternoon and evening, making it hazardous for recreational craft and small boats. The FMI also warns of rough waves of more than 2.5 metres on Friday evening.
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 Work to pump water out of the Eliel parking hall went on into the afternoon.  Irene Stachon / Lehtikuva
 In neighbouring Espoo, 48 mm of precipitation was recorded on Friday morning, and at least one major road, Tekniikantie, was closed. Besides Espoo, rescue officials responded to water damage calls in Kirkkonummi and Siuntio.
 Elsewhere in Finland, areas just south of Oulu received 5-10 mm of rain per hour, while some parts of North Savo and North Karelia received as much as 20-30 mm an hour, says meteorologist  Nina Karusto  of the FMI.


A Porvoo hotel served as a month-long base camp for the pair of brothers suspected of  opening fire on two police officers  in the southern Finland town last weekend,  writes daily Helsingin Sanomat . Like other local news media, HS devotes considerable real estate to opening up the background to the shooting late Saturday night that left two officers injured, with one still in hospital.
 The largest-circulation daily reports that police used a saw on the door of the brothers' motel room as they continued gathering evidence for what authorities are investigating as attempted murder. HS says that according to information it received, the men, aged 25 and 30, previously claimed that they were working at a local construction site, while one local with whom they interacted said they understood that the men were working "off the books".
 The motel was about one kilometre from the site of the shooting incident. Other residents told HS that the men did not cause any trouble before Saturday night and that their Volvo estate wagon had become a familiar sight in the area.
 The owner of a wholesale business opposite the scene of the shooting,  Markus Lahtela , said he had seen two "mean-looking" men walking along the roadside on Saturday night. He described the duo as "the type I wouldn’t want to meet in an alley". He later recognised them in the news after they had been detained. Lahtela also told HS that there had been a series of petty crimes in the area of late – not burglaries, but minor cases of larceny.
 Childhood spent in Porvoo
 HS journalists did some traditional gumshoe work and  interviewed locals for a profile of the brothers , who were said to have grown up in Porvoo before moving to Sweden when the elder brother was in eighth grade. The paper learned that the older brother had competed in mixed martial arts fights in Sweden.
 The older brother's acquaintances included several Finns, some of whom live in the Itä-Uusimaa region of southern Finland. "At first I was a bit shocked when I heard about it," said one source who last met the brothers about 10 years ago.
 "Maybe they were a bit wild, but then we all were," the person told HS.
 Another interviewee said that as a student, the older brother was known to be a shoplifter. That person claimed to have last seen one of the men about a year ago. The source described the older man as a petty crook with ties to criminal circles in Sweden and said they were not surprised to hear that the older brother is suspected to have been involved in Saturday night’s daring crime.
 Swedish paper's ambush theory
 Meanwhile tabloid  Ilta-Sanomat reports  that the older suspect apparently had no criminal background in Finland but had been under scrutiny for tax and accounting offences in Sweden three years ago.
 IS is one of the local papers that links to  Swedish evening paper Expressen , which carries a story alleging that the men were the ones who placed a call to local emergency services on Saturday night to lure police to the Ölstens industrial area in western Porvoo. Once police were on the way, they laid in wait to ambush the unsuspecting patrol unit.
 IS also references the online service of  commercial broadcaster MTV , which claims that the suspects made off with one of the injured officers' firearms. The broadcaster notes that lead investigator  Kimmo Huhta-aho  of the National Bureau of Investigation did not comment on the assertion when interviewed on Monday night.
 Changing climate and longer summers
 Tuesday’s papers also find time to focus on another pet subject in Finland – the weather. Tabloid daily  Iltalehti reports that  daytime highs reached 25.1 degrees Celsius in the Åland Islands on Monday. In Finland, 25 degrees represents  a symbolic "heat threshold"  when locals consider the weather to be officially "hot".
 "A warm air mass is linked to a high pressure [zone] and when the sun is blazing in the sky, temperatures will rise," Foreca meteorologist  Kristian Roine  explained to IL, adding that the next three days will likely see highs rise above 25 degrees.
 By Friday, precipitation could have a cooling effect, however conditions could heat up again over the weekend with the warm weather extending into next week.
 According to the meteorologist, Finland is seeing the effects of climate change. "Heat records have been broken every year since 2010. Climate change has been real over the past 20 years or so," he added.
 The last time Finland saw a balmy end to summer was in 2002. Back then temperatures exceeded 25 degrees in two locations on 3 September. The highest temperatures were 25.4 degrees recorded in Mietoinen in western Finland and 25.1 degrees in Anjalankoski in southeast Finland’s Kymenlaakso region.


The Finnish Meteorological Institute FMI said that temperatures in Lapland have never before exceeded 25 degrees Celsius after 27 August.
 However on Wednesday afternoon the mercury inched past the 25-degree-mark – known as the " heat threshold " in usually cool Finland – to reach 25.3 degrees in Kittilä and Muonio.
 The FMI posted a tweet showing daytime highs recorded in different parts of Lapland on Wednesday, simply hashtagging the post "helle" or "heat" in English.
 Yle meteorologist  Kerttu Ketakorpi  said that warm air currents will continue to waft over Lapland on Thursday. However she noted that it is not possible to same if the 25-degree weather will persist.
 Meanwhile the FMI predicted continuing sunshine and warm conditions for Thursday. However a system of scattered showers with occasional thunder is expected to move in from the west on Friday.
 Skies are forecasted to clear heading into the weekend, according to FMI.


Horticulturist  Arno Kasvi  marvels at a peach tree growing in Ruissalo, part of the southwestern city of Turku. The tree, which has flourished on a shady slope in the centre of the garden, was a gift and is already 10 years old. Kasvi has been following the stages of the tree’s annual growth cycle.
 "The tree has not really been cared for, but it still produces an edible harvest. It grows best in the shade. The problem with growing peaches in Finland is that they begin blooming too early in the year, for example on the walls of houses, even in January. At that time of the year, there are no pollinators around," said Kasvi.
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 Peaches in a Finnish garden. Minna Rosvall / Yle
 Peach trees are not usually covered in a protective blanket in winter, nor are they shielded from the sunlight. This particular tree’s health demonstrates the effect of climate change on home gardens.
 "If the tree is cared for, it would yield a more regular harvest. The amount of produce has varied in recent years. Sometimes the peaches come in bucketfuls, like this summer, and other times there are distinctly less," said Kasvi.
 Worth trying exotic varieties
 The Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke) is carrying out extensive research into how climate change is affecting the country. The institute predicts that the temperature will rise by two to seven degrees Celsius while rainfall will increase by six to 20 percent by 2080.
 Saila Karhu , a research professor at the institute, unveils a steadily growing grapevine outside its Piikkiö office.
 "There was a building here earlier, and the vine would grow on its outer wall. The building has been demolished, but the grapes continue to grow at a steady rate. It’s surprising that authentic varieties of grapes that thrive in Finland have been found, including varieties that can be eaten and used to make wine," she added.
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 A flourishing grapevine in Piikiö. Minna Rosvall / Yle
 Karhu notes that this too is a result of climate change. She expressed astonishment at peaches and apricots not only being able to withstand the Finnish winter but being harvested regularly.
 "Sweet cherries could become a new crop, and the commercial cultivation of pears will likely increase significantly. The production area of apples, in turn, will be extended towards the North," she said.
 Karhu suggests growing exotic varieties of fruit in home gardens, but she does not recommend cultivating them for commercial purposes. She points out that it is easier to grow annual plants, as you need not worry about them surviving the winters.
 Warm winters and quickly melting snow aid plant growth
 A magnolia that bloomed last spring outside the institute’s Piikiö office is still flourishing. The beech tree, which was planted in the 1930s, has begun sprouting germinated seeds and reproducing for the first time ever in the past few years.
 "Climate change has led to a prolonged growing season, with less snow, and snow melting earlier in the spring. Very cold winter seasons are also expected to decrease, as will their likelihood. This will promote the protection of more delicate plants," said Karhu.
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 Seeds from a beech tree in Piikkiö. Minna Rosvall / Yle
 Additionally, autumn weather will be milder for longer, but it will also be very wet and rainy. This could adversely affect plant dormancy in winter.
 "If autumn is fairly warm and long, the plants are in a good position to prepare for winter, and it aids their dormancy," Karhu said.
 Eggplant and corn crops thriving
 Kasvi encourages fruit cultivators to experiment. He displays eggplants growing in a bed at the University of Turku's botanical garden.
 "Eggplants thrive in greenhouses in Finland, but these demonstrate that they flourish in the open as well," Kasvi said.
 He then quickly switched to the topic of corn and quinoa.
 "Quinoa, like corn, is an Incan grain from South America. Corn is maturing at a high rate right now. The amount of heat is good, as April and May were exceptionally hot and there were no frosty nights. If horticulturists or farmers do not succeed this summer, they should change their fields," Kasvi said.
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 Corn cultivators need not worry about the crop surviving winter. Minna Rosvall / Yle
 He emphasises that using the same plot of land for several years lets you gain agricultural and horticultural experience, and proposes growing different varieties.
 "There are varieties of maize that are easy to cultivate, but I only recommend growing peach trees as a hobby. It is a high maintenance crop compared to corn, for example." Kasvi said, also highlighting the limited yield. "It should be remembered that peach trees bloom as rarely as plum trees. They also need to be pruned, as the tree could crack under the weight of an abundant yield."


Meteorologists have said that there is a high possibility for skywatchers to witness a display of Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights on Saturday or Sunday night.
 The event is caused by a rapid electromagnetic discharge from an opening in the Sun’s corona towards the earth. According to forecasts by the Finnish Meteorological Institute FMI, the speed of the discharge could exceed 700 kilometres per second and could trigger a minor magnetic storm.
 "Things are happening in space! In the nights ahead it’s possible that we will see Northern Lights in our skies," FMI tweeted on Saturday afternoon.
 It added that if the storm is even a bit more powerful, then the phenomenon known as Aurora Borealis could be visible as far as southern Finland around midnight on Saturday.
 FMI: Uncertainty over timing
 FMI said the biggest uncertainty about its space weather forecast is in the timing. "If the impact of the opening in the corona is the same as last time [on 5 August] it will begin in Sunday, in which case the Northern Lights show will begin Sunday night," the agency said on its website.
 "However the opening has expanded since the last time so this time the discharge could arrive earlier, in other words on Saturday night," it added, advising the public to monitor the situation from Saturday evening.
 "If nothing happens then, you should check again on Sunday night," FMI continued. It’s also possible to follow the agency’s online  space weather forecast in English , however  the Finnish-language service provides more information .
 "In terms of [expected] cloud cover there is a good chance to see the Northern Lights, at least in southern and central Finland. It will be cloudier in the north, but there could be breaks in the clouds in some areas," said Yle meteorologist  Joonas Koskela .
 According to the latest weather forecast, skies will be clearer on Sunday night.


With warm weather continuing in early September, this summer has brought more hot days than usual to most of the country, says the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI). It defines "hot" as 25 degrees Celsius (77F) or more.
 That imaginary barrier was breached again on Monday when thermometers in the northern city of Oulu reached 25.4 C.
 In western Finland the June-August period was mostly about one degree warmer than the long-term average. Meanwhile along the eastern border and the far north, the average was about a degree below usual.
 Starting in May, the place with the most hot days was the southern town of Hattula, near Hämeenlinna. It clocked up 26 days of 25C or more. Meanwhile Kilpisjärvi in the far northwestern arm, has not reached 25 at all this year.
 Monday was the 37th day this year when the mercury reached 25 somewhere in the country. That is two more than the long-term average.
 Late heat in Lapland
 Late August brought a new heatwave to northern Finland. On 29 August it pushed the thermometer to 25.3 degrees in Rovaniemi, capital of Finnish Lapland. According to the FMI, that is the latest recorded date that the mercury has ever surpassed 25C in Finnish Lapland.
 August was drier than usual through most of the country. In general rainfall was less than the normal level. Much of central Finland, Savo and North Karelia had their driest summer since 1955.
 Despite the drought, torrential downpours caused material damage in Pori on 8 August and in Helsinki on 23 August.
 Statistically, the temperature usually breaks the 25C barrier on one day in September. This year it already has on the first two days of the month, notes Yle meteorologist  Anne Borgström .
 She predicts unstable conditions for the rest of the week, with temperatures declining to more seasonable levels. Southern Finland, for instance, should mostly have highs of 16-18C over the next week, while Oulu's highs will hover around 14-15 and Rovaniemi slightly below that.