UN Confirms , Record Breaking <br />High Temperatures , Around the World.<br />NPR reports that the United Nations confirmed <br />the Arctic hit a new record high temperature <br />over the summer, reaching over 100F. .<br />In a December 14 statement, the World Meteorological Organization called the record high temperature reading , "more befitting the Mediterranean than the Arctic.".<br />According to NPR, the reading was taken in the <br />Russian town of Verkhoyansk on June 20, 2020.<br />The temperature was reached amid <br />a Siberian heatwave which saw the region <br />reach above-normal temperatures.<br />This new Arctic record is one of <br />a series of observations reported <br />to the WMO Archive of Weather <br />and Climate Extremes that <br />sound the alarm bells about <br />our changing climate. , Petteri Taalas, WMO Secretary-General, via NPR.<br />In 2020, there was also a new <br />temperature record (18.3°C) <br />for the Antarctic continent, Petteri Taalas, WMO Secretary-General, via NPR.<br />According to the WMO, the Arctic region, "is among the fastest-warming <br />regions in the world.".<br />Due to the unprecedented temperatures, the WMO had <br />to add a new climate category to its database for , "highest recorded temperature at <br />or north of 66.5⁰, the Arctic Circle." .<br />The new Arctic record was only one <br />of many record-breaking high <br />temperatures reached in 2020 and 2021. .<br />The island of Sicily broke the record <br />high in Europe, reaching 119.8F. .<br />While one of the world's hottest locations, <br />California's Death Valley, reached a scorching 129.9F.
