Arctic Circle reaches 30°C as freakish temperatures set to stay put for weeks

Sydney — Extreme weather that is gripping northern Europe and parts of Asia may persist into early August, prolonging a deadly heatwave that has parched crops and sparked devastating forest fires. Temperatures have risen to a record from Japan to Norway because of a stationary blocking high-pressure system, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Tuesday. Relief from soaring temperatures — which topped 30°C in the Arctic Circle — may not arrive for at least two weeks, potentially extending a spate of weather-related disasters from wildfires near Athens to floods in Laos. "It’s quite remarkable how long it’s lasting," Andrew King, a climate scientist at the University of Melbourne, said in a phone interview. "At the moment, the forecast is for not much change." The World Economic Forum ranks extreme weather as the top global risk in terms of likelihood and second-biggest in terms of impact, while the WMO says episodes of extreme heat and precipitation are increasing due t...