The Siberian town of Verkhoyansk can officially claim to be the hottest spot in the Arctic. The northeast Russian community known for its extremely cold winters reached a record-setting Arctic temperature high of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit (38 Celsius) on June 20, 2020 in a reading confirmed by the World Meteorological Organization , a United Nations agency. “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.” WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said Tuesday in a statement. “In 2020, there was also a new temperature record (18.3°C) for the Antarctic continent.” Smoke from wildfires near Magaras, Russia in July 2021. Higher temperatures in Siberia are fueling fires and contributing to a warming planet. Historical research from national records of northern nations showed that there are no known temperatures at any Arctic […]