Finland is experiencing warm and sunny weather with temperatures ranging between 20 and 25 degrees Celsius, and an advisory for strong ultraviolet radiation has been issued for the south and southwest.
The sale of fishing permits has been suspended for two sites where water temperatures have risen to critically high levels, especially for salmon.
Strong winds and heavy snowfall have led to flights being delayed, trains being cancelled, and motorists told to avoid unnecessary journeys.
The last time Finland had this much sunshine in March was nearly a decade ago, in 2013. High pressure typically brings clear skies, and this was also the case last month in Finland.
Early March's relatively mild start will get wetter in southern areas on Thursday, when a significant amount of rainfall is expected — with up to a full centimetre expected in western areas.
Temperatures in Finland last month were between 1.5 and 3.5 degrees Celsius warmer than normal in most parts of the country.
May was also exceptionally dry in many areas. According to the FMI, Savukoski, a village in eastern Lapland, recorded the most rainfall last month with 59.4 millimeters.
Historical heat records shattered as temperatures soar above 45°C, prompting government precautions.
Environment agency Sepa said every part of the country had now reached some level of water scarcity. The weather conditions could last until early July and followed a drier than usual winter and spring. In May, Scotland only received 44% of its long-term average rainfall.
Some 1,600 bats found a temporary home this week in the attic of a Houston Humane Society director, but it wasn’t because they made it their roost. It was a temporary recovery space for the flying mammals after they lost their grip and plunged to the pavement after going into hypothermic shock during the city’s recent cold snap .
It was a record-breaking Thursday morning in a number of Saskatchewan communities due to an arctic ridge of high pressure.
The temperature in Verkhoyansk hit 38 degrees Celsius on Saturday, according to Pogoda i Klimat, a website that compiles Russian meteorological data.
Firefighters extinguished fires on Benbecula and Harris as they warn of extreme risk. SFRS said the fires had broken out in vegetation that had died off since last year and then been dried out by frost and low temperatures.
A heatwave is hitting Kitikmeot and Kivalliq communities this week bringing temperatures above 30 C (86 F), twice as high as the average temperature for these regions at this time of year.
The warm spell, which is expected to last into the last week of January, is the result of a low-pressure cyclonic system of warm air from the south.
Temperatures pass 39C in Belgium and the Netherlands, as a Eurostar train breaks down in the heat.
Weather watchers are focused on the world's most northerly community, which is in the middle of a record-breaking heat wave.
It lost more than 40 per cent of its area in just two days at the end of July, researchers said on Thursday.
A four-day heatwave across western Europe that killed seven people began to ease slightly on Sunday, as temperature alerts were cut back and wildfires slowly brought under control.
The number of deaths recorded across British Columbia during the province's recent record-breaking heat wave has climbed to 808, according to coroners.
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