The long cold spell that ran through June will end today, with temperatures rising to at least 20-25 degrees Celsius. The official heat wave temperature is 25.1 degrees, which will be reached today, according to the Meteorological Institute.
Bright sunshine also means higher levels of UV radiation, especially in the south. Finns are advised to take measures against heatstroke.
End of June coldest in half a century
The last heat wave day was on 7 June, after which a month of record-breaking chilliness has been recorded. The previous similar cold spell occurred in the 1960s.
Due to the brief warmth of early June, the mean temperature for the whole month was still only slightly below the yearly average.
July is expected to be warm and sunny, which means that lakewater temperatures are also on the rise, at least gradually. Small lakes are already at about 18 degrees, with northern waters at about four degrees below that.
The mercury surpassed the 25C barrier on Sunday afternoon in broad swathes of the country, even in the northernmost municipality of Utsjoki.