Temperatures in Ittoqqortoormiit, a tiny town on Greenland’s eastern coast, typically hover just above freezing in the month of May. But on May 19, the weather station there documented an eye-popping 57.7 degrees Fahrenheit, a monthly record.
Nearby Iceland was also roasting. Just days earlier, on May 15, Egilsstaðir Airport observed a new national record temperature for the month of May when thermometers jumped to 79.9 F.
The astonishing heat wave sent temperatures skyrocketing throughout the region for more than a week, rising more than 18 F above their usual levels in some places. Melting on the Greenland ice sheet rose to 17 times its normal rate. Asphalt in Iceland, designed for cooler weather, softened in the heat.
And climate change is to blame, scientists say.
