UN Confirms , Record Breaking High Temperatures , Around the World.
NPR reports that the United Nations confirmed the Arctic hit a new record high temperature over the summer, reaching over 100F.
.
In a December 14 statement, the World Meteorological Organization called the record high temperature reading , "more befitting the Mediterranean than the Arctic.".
According to NPR, the reading was taken in the Russian town of Verkhoyansk on June 20, 2020.
The temperature was reached amid a Siberian heatwave which saw the region reach above-normal temperatures.
This new Arctic record is one of a series of observations reported to the WMO Archive of Weather and Climate Extremes that sound the alarm bells about our changing climate.
, Petteri Taalas, WMO Secretary-General, via NPR.
In 2020, there was also a new temperature record (18.3°C) for the Antarctic continent, Petteri Taalas, WMO Secretary-General, via NPR.
According to the WMO, the Arctic region, "is among the fastest-warming regions in the world.".
Due to the unprecedented temperatures, the WMO had to add a new climate category to its database for , "highest recorded temperature at or north of 66.5⁰, the Arctic Circle." .
The new Arctic record was only one of many record-breaking high temperatures reached in 2020 and 2021.
.
The island of Sicily broke the record high in Europe, reaching 119.8F.
.
While one of the world's hottest locations, California's Death Valley, reached a scorching 129.9F.
