Iceland experienced an extraordinary and record-breaking warm spell during the Christmas holidays, with temperatures in some eastern regions nearing 20 °C in December — a month typically associated with cold Arctic conditions. According to reports, meteorological stations in the fjord town of Bakkagerði recorded a temperature of 19.7 °C on Christmas Day, far surpassing the previous Christmas Day record of 13.7 °C set in 2005. At Seyðisfjörður, another location in eastern Iceland, the mercury soared to 19.8 °C on Christmas Eve, setting a new December temperature record for the country. These readings are exceptionally high for December in Iceland, where winter temperatures normally hover well below double digits. The unusually warm weather wasn’t confined to a single day. On Christmas Eve, Seyðisfjörður also registered a daily record of 19.2 °C, reflecting the intensity and breadth of this anomalous warm spell. Meteorologists attribute this rare phenomenon to a strong high-pressure system over the North Atlantic. This system drew warm, moist subtropical air northward, preventing the usual winter cold air from settling over Iceland. In addition, strong winds and downslope flows along mountainous terrain helped amplify surface warming, contributing to these extraordinary temperature spikes. While such events can occur under specific meteorological conditions, scientists say that they are becoming more frequent and intense as the climate warms, especially in high-latitude regions like the Arctic, where warming trends outpace the global average.
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