The Briefing
- Lapland saw coldest January since 1987
- Third-coldest 21st century temperature recorded
- Precipitation unusually low across the country
Finland faced an exceptionally harsh start to 2026 as temperatures plunged well below seasonal norms across the entire country, the Finnish Meteorological Institute announced on Monday.
The northern Lapland region bore the brunt of the cold snap, experiencing its most frigid January in nearly four decades.
Average monthly temperatures varied dramatically, from around minus 2 degrees Celsius in the milder southwestern archipelago to a punishing minus 20 degrees Celsius in the Arctic north.
The temperature extremes told a stark story. On January 17, Lemland in the autonomous Åland Islands registered the month’s warmest reading at just 4.3 degrees Celsius.
The northern Lapland region bore the brunt of the cold snap.
Meanwhile, on January 9, the mercury in Savukoski, Lapland, dropped to a bone-chilling minus 42.8 degrees Celsius. This marked the third-coldest temperature recorded anywhere in Finland since the year 2000.
Adding to the unusual conditions, precipitation remained remarkably scarce throughout much of the country. Monthly totals ranged from a mere 2.8 millimeters in Nuorgam, Utsjoki, to 56.4 millimeters in Jomalaby, Åland.
Finland’s climate has generally been warming over recent decades, making extreme cold snaps increasingly noteworthy when they occur. For residents, particularly newcomers unaccustomed to Nordic winters, such conditions can pose serious challenges for transportation, heating costs, and daily life.
Historically, Finland’s coldest months tend to occur in January and February, but temperatures this severe remain rare in modern records.
