Longer summers in Arctic Norway

Summers are two weeks longer than 30 years ago, Norwegian researchers say, with plant development now starting about 14 days earlier.

“According to climate researchers’ predictions, it will become warmer and more humid [in Norway]. This means that in the future we will be able to cultivate plants that would not thrive before in Norway. And that we can cultivate traditionally southern Norwegian plants over greater parts of the country,” Leif Sundheim of the Norwegian Institute for Plant Research told the Aftenposten newspaper.

This year, Norway’s northern regions experienced record-breaking temperatures, topping all averages taken since 1866.

In June, the weather station in Tromsø registered 394.4 hours of sun, just short of record of 397.8 in 1953.