February 22, 2005
Xinhua News

STOCKHOLM, Feb. 21 (Xinhuanet) -- The temperature in Greenland over the weekend was higher than in many southern European winter getaways, Ritzau news bureau reported on Monday.

Temperatures on the island, a Danish overseas territory, reached 16 degrees on Saturday, making it warmer than places such as Algarve, Malorca, and northern Tunisia.

The official record of 16.0 C (60.8 F) was recorded in the townof Paamiut (Frederikshob) on the western coast of the Greenland. The temperature is the highest recorded winter temperature since record keeping began in 1958.

The previous record of 15.4 C (59.7 F) was recorded in 1980 in the southern Greenland town of Narsaruaq. The previous record high for February of 14.2 C (57.6 F) was registered in 1965, also in Narsaruaq.

The warm winter weather in Greenland is caused by weather systems that have pumped warm air over the southwestern portion of the island, according to Danish TV weather service. Temperatures along the entire southern coast were over 10 C (50 F) on Saturday.

Meteorologists expected the warm weather to spread north, causing ice in the otherwise frigid northeast Greenland to melt.

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