The ‘hometown’ of Santa Claus is experiencing record-breaking heatwave

Apparently even Santa Claus can’t avoid a sweltering summer heatwave as his “hometown” experiences record-breaking weather.

Finland’s most northerly region, Lapland which is famously recognised as Santa’s official residence, reached a high of 33.5°C on Monday, according to the Kevo Observatory.

The country hasn’t experienced blistering temperatures like this in over a century - since 1914 to be exact.

Over the past few weeks, the temperature has been climbing, the Helsinki Times reported.

So, if you’re planning a Scandinavian getaway this summer, you better pack the sun cream.

As you can probably guess, this isn’t a typical Finnish summer because they’re typically used to weather around 15-20°C at this time of the year.

But it seems their Nordic neighbours are also feeling the heat too.

Norway recorded an even higher temperature at 34°C in Saltdal county near the Arctic Circle.

Sweden is encountering similar weather, with June being the country’s hottest month since records began.

A map shared by The World Meteorological Organization - the U.N.’s authoritative voice on weather, climate and water shows how the extreme heat has taken hold over the Nordic countries.

People have shared their concerns on Twitter about the dramatic rise in temperature and referenced climate change.

Record-breaking temperatures are currently happening in other parts of the world too.

At the beginning of summer, North America experienced a heatwave in the US state of Oregon which killed 95 people, and also in Canada where the British Columbia region recorded a nation record at 49.6C, The Independent reported.

On the other side of the globe in the southern hemisphere, New Zealand had its hottest recorded winter in June since 1909 - with highs of 22C in some areas.

In the UK, the current hottest day on record stands at 38.9°C, set two years ago on July 25 2019 at Cambridge Botanic Garden, according to the Met Office.