“The Arctic is experiencing its coldest summer in 64 years,” say several publications circulating on social networks. The high temperatures that have affected Europe in particular since the beginning of the summer, and the numerous fires should be put into perspective according to some Internet users. For many of them, global warming is therefore only an alarmist theory and some even speak of “heat wave psychosis”.
Some even go so far as to round off the coldest summer for seventy years. The authors cite an article published by the International Network blog on June 22. It is based on “factual Greenlandic data reported by the Danish Meteorological Institute”. Is the Arctic really experiencing its coldest summer for sixty years? 20 minutes make the point.
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The article is based on a graph which is indeed on the website of the Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI), and which is updated daily. The screenshot visible on the site was taken on June 22, 2022. The graph is titled as follows: “Mean daily temperature and climate north of the 80th parallel north, depending on the day of the year. It is therefore impossible to determine whether this particular summer was colder or hotter than the others, since it is an average for each day, over the different years.
It should also be noted that the Arctic is not only concentrated above the 80th parallel. The graph therefore does not include the entire continent, and therefore not the lowest part, which is also the most affected by global warming and melting ice.
The Danish Meteorological Institute indicates that there have been more and more temperature anomalies in recent years in this high part of the Arctic that they are studying. The black line of this graph illustrates them. The blue line representing winter temperatures shows increasing heat. If for the summer the red curve remains more stable, it is still possible to note anomalies, according to the DMI.