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Mika Rantanen

@mikarantane.bsky.social
7.9K followers 521 following 1.2K posts

Researcher at the Finnish Meteorological Institute. Climate change, extreme weather and attribution of extreme events. PhD in meteorology from the University of Helsinki.

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Mika Rantanen @mikarantane.bsky.social · 11h
The 10th Copernicus Ocean State Report (OSR10) was published today: marine.copernicus.eu/news/publica... In the report, we have a paper on record-low sea levels in the Bothnian Bay in Nov 2024, caused by an extreme windstorm event (Storm Jari). Open-access paper: sp.copernicus.org/articles/7-o...
sp.copernicus.org
Record low sea levels in the Bothnian Bay in November 2024
Abstract. On 21 November 2024, there was an extreme event within the Bothnian Bay, a sub-basin of the Baltic Sea, when a record low sea level of −153 cm was measured at Kemi, at the northern end of th...
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Mika Rantanen @mikarantane.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Do you remember the drought affecting Finland that received a lot of media attention? In early May, cumulative precipitation was record-low in Finland. Turns out that the summer and September were quite wet, and cumulative precipitation in Finland is now actually above average!
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Mika Rantanen @mikarantane.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
New paper by @daanvandenbroek.com and me just published in @rmets.org Weather: "The 2026 cold wave brought northern Fennoscandia its coldest 2-week period since 1987" rmets.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... Check out the brilliant thread by Daan below 👇
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Mika Rantanen @mikarantane.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Radar image of Tuesday's mass crane migration. A 100 km long line of migrating cranes was clearly visible on weather radar. It is estimated that around 10,000 (?) cranes were involved in that formation. The highest count observed was 26,000 migrating cranes on that day in Kangasala (near Tampere).
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Julia Kemppinen @juliakemppinen.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Just accepted! Our study led by @mikarantane.bsky.social in Theoretical and Applied Climatology shows the spatial heterogeneity in growing season dynamics across northern environments 🍃🌡️🥵 While waiting for the final publication, you can check out our preprint version: doi.org/10.21203/rs....
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Mika Rantanen @mikarantane.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Another new paper on the acceleration debate: "Space-time signatures of surface warming accelerations since 1970" www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Space-time signatures of surface warming accelerations since 1970 - Nature Communications
Addressing the debate about global warming acceleration, this study identifies key regions that underwent recent warming shifts. Results show that regional warming speed-ups vary in timing from the 19...
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Lukas Brunner @lukasbrunner.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
🚨New publication How does internal climate variability affect the calculation of the ETCCDI temperature and precipitation extreme indices? In our paper, we introduce the Variability Atlas, a flexible toolset to address this question for users of all experience levels! doi.org/10.1088/1748...
doi.org
The variability atlas: how internal climate variability affects the estimation of climate extreme indices
The variability atlas: how internal climate variability affects the estimation of climate extreme indices, Brunner, Lukas, Mithal, Vidur, Borchert, Leonard F, Sillmann, Jana, Poschlod, Benjamin
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Mika Rantanen @mikarantane.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Composites of winter (DJF) temperature anomalies of moderate-to-strong ENSO events (RONI threshold ±1.0 °C) in Europe. Note, these are detrended temperature anomalies. The pattern is cold for northeastern Europe but closer inspection reveals that two winters (1987 and 2010) push the average down.
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Mika Rantanen @mikarantane.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
El Niñon voimakkuus saavutti tiistaina kolmen asteen rajan, Ilmatieteen laitoksen tutkija Mika Rantanen sanoo. "El Niño voimakkaasti lämmenneessä ilmastossa on yhdistelmä, jota ei ole koskaan aikaisemmin koettu." www.is.fi/kotimaa/art-...
is.fi
Näin super-El Niño -ilmiö voi näkyä Suomessa
El Niño saavuttaa huippunsa marras-joulukuussa. Ilmiön vaikutukset näkyvät pitkälle ensi kevääseen saakka.
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Mika Rantanen @mikarantane.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Kollega A-J Punkka on tässä oikeassa - harvoin syyskuussa tehdyssä kausiennusteessa on niin selkeä signaali talvikaudelle. Selvästikin malleissa on jokin driveri, (El Niño?), mikä työntää niitä samaan asentoon. Tuleva talvi on El Niñon kaukovaikutusten "stressitesti"? yle.fi/a/74-20246396
yle.fi
Meteorologi: ”Harvoin näkee näin voimakkaita signaaleja” – talvesta on tulossa talvinen
Mikäli kausiennuste toteutuu, vesisateet pysyvät loitolla ja Suomessa saadaan nauttia todennäköisesti talvisista olosuhteista ensi talvena.
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Mika Rantanen @mikarantane.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
El Niño strengthening into unseen territory. The Niño3.4 region just reached a +3.0 °C anomaly (relative to the 1991–2020). Such a warmth has never been observed in September, and it's only a few hundredths of a degree away from the 2015 all-time record.
Nino3.4 temperature anomaly in different years. The values in 2026 are above the previous years' temperatures and close to 2015 all-time record.
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Mika Rantanen @mikarantane.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Classic El Niño signal is visible in the latest C3S seasonal forecasts for the upcoming winter. The multi-model mean MSLP anomaly is almost a carbon copy of El Niño composite for the Jan-Feb period. confluence.ecmwf.int/spaces/CKB/p...
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Mika Rantanen @mikarantane.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Job alert: full professorship in meteorology in the University of Helsinki! New position in dynamic meteorology, synoptic-scale meteorology and numerical weather prediction. The vacancy has been opened due to the passing of Dr. Victoria Sinclair. Details: jobs.helsinki.fi/job/Helsinki...
jobs.helsinki.fi
Professor/Associate or Assistant Professor, Meteorology
Professor/Associate or Assistant Professor, Meteorology
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Mika Rantanen @mikarantane.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Melko voimakas lintujen aamumuutto käynnissä selkeällä taivaalla. Lähinnä hyönteissyöjiä kuten kuten västäräkkejä ja rautiaisia poistuu Suomesta.
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Simon Lee @simonleewx.com · 10/09/2026
8 years ago, I tweeted side-by-side maps from NASA GISS showing global temperatures in 1976 and 2018 – both hot summers in the UK. It subsequently went viral and was printed in the Daily Mail! The 2026 version is stark. Two locally extreme summers separated by 50 years of global climate change.
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Mika Rantanen @mikarantane.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Job alert: full professorship in meteorology in the University of Helsinki! New position in dynamic meteorology, synoptic-scale meteorology and numerical weather prediction. The vacancy has been opened due to the passing of Dr. Victoria Sinclair. Details: jobs.helsinki.fi/job/Helsinki...
jobs.helsinki.fi
Professor/Associate or Assistant Professor, Meteorology
Professor/Associate or Assistant Professor, Meteorology
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Mika Rantanen @mikarantane.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
"Oletan, että ennätys rikkoutuu lähipäivinä. Sitten olemme ennennäkemättömissä lukemissa" Nino3.4 alue jatkanut lämpenemistään pienen tauon jälkeen. Lämpötila on nyt 2,9 °C tavanomaista korkeampi, kun vuoden 2015 El Niñossa tehty ennätys on 3,1 astetta. yle.fi/a/74-20245194
yle.fi
Tyynellä valtamerellä syntyvä El Niño voi rikkoa tällä kertaa kaikkien aikojen ennätyksen
Maailman säitä myllertävä El Niño vahvistuu loppuvuoteen asti. Suomessa se voi nostaa suklaan ja kahvin hintaa.
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Prof Ian Hall @ianhall.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Climate change increases deadly heat risk in Southern Europe. Across 34 countries, 2022-like heat mortality events were 26.5× more likely in Southern Europe than under pre-industrial conditions, ~10× the European average. Risk rises sharply with warming. www.nature.com/articles/s44...
nature.com
Extreme event attribution for heat-related mortality due to anthropogenic climate change across Europe - Nature Health
A method combining extreme event attribution with epidemiological models shows that extreme heat-related mortality events in Southern Europe are 26.5 times more likely than in pre-industrial times, wi...
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Rick Thoman @alaskawx.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
The #Arctic (land & seas poleward north of 60ºN) finished up with the warmest summer on record in ERA5 data from @copernicusecmwf.bsky.social. The five warmest summers all since 2016. However, within 1100km (700 miles) of the North Pole (80° to 90°N) this was the coolest summer since 2014. #Climate
Time series graphic plotting the June through August average temperature in the Arctic each year 1950 to 2026. The five highest and lowest values are highlighted, and an estimate of the time varying average is also shown.
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Mika Rantanen @mikarantane.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Summers are warming so fast in the UK that scientists can’t keep track. Abstract of a new study: “Summer 2025 was the warmest so far recorded for the UK” The paper was published today, and indeed, that "so far" was a useful addition. rmets.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
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Met Office - weather and climate @metoffice.gov.uk · 01/09/2026
Summer 2026 is provisionally the UK’s warmest summer on record with the season’s mean temperature made around 130 times more likely due to human-induced climate change. Here, we delve into the numbers 🧵
Mean temperature for 2026 in the UK. The map shows widely above average temperature, particularly in the south. Rainfall amounts in summer 2026 in the UK compared to average. The maps shows widely dry conditions, though the west of Scotland is slightly wetter than averageSunshine duration in summer 2026 compared to average. The map shows widely sunny conditions in the season, with the south of the country particularly sunny.
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Mika Rantanen @mikarantane.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Happy autumn! Summer 2026 in Finland was very close to the 1991–2020 averages, and even slightly above it. It may feel counterintuitive, but I'd argue it's part of the shifting baseline -syndrome. We just didn't have those week-long heatwaves this year, as opposed to western Europe.
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KarSteN Haustein @khaustein.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Globally, the hottest August in observed history is just about to end. In Western Europe, the summer of 2026 (June, July, August) has been the warmest as well. Compared to this year, 1976 (the famous UK summer) and 2003 (the hottest EU summer so far) look like amateurs in terms of heat (1/2)
Global map of temperature departures with most continental regions as well as the tropical Pacific in red (hot). Parts of Antarctica in blue (cold)

Source: http://www.karstenhaustein.com/climateMap of Europe with blue and cold patches for cold and hot temperature departures from the long-term climate average (1961-1990). France and the UK in red. All else rather blue.Map of Europe with blue and cold patches for cold and hot temperature departures from the long-term climate average (1961-1990). All of central Europe in red. Parts of the Atlantic in blueMap of Europe with blue and cold patches for cold and hot temperature departures from the long-term climate average (1961-1990). All of central and Southern Europe in red. No blue left anymore.
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Mika Rantanen @mikarantane.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Exceptionally cold morning in eastern Lapland with minimum temperature down to -6.6 °C in Savukoski Tulppio. This is the coldest August temperature observed in Finland since 1986, and it ties the -6.6 °C reading from August 1989.
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Erich Fischer @erichfischer.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Children disproportionately affected by heat Our new Science Advances paper, led by @rosapietroiusti.bsky.social and @wimthiery.eu, shows that children today – and in the future – are disproportionately affected by heat stress. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
science.org
Age-specific exposure to human-induced increases in humid heat
Children are particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts and will face intensifying effects of climate change during their lifetimes. Here, we show that children already face disproportionate ex...
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Mika Rantanen @mikarantane.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
We have a new paper led by Jouni Räisänen from University of Helsinki on verification of our climate attribution tool. link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com
Estimating present temperature climate in a warming world: probabilistic verification of a model-based approach for years 2008–2025 - Climate Dynamics
When climate changes, statistics derived from past observations become unrepresentative of the true present climate. In 2008, Räisänen and Ruokolainen proposed a method for alleviating this bias, comb...
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Mika Rantanen @mikarantane.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
How much of the May–July 2026 temperatures in Europe was related to El Niño? Here's comparison of 1979–2025 correlation map and detrended temperatures for MJJ 2026. Not a perfect match, but not bad either. Especially the east-west gradient across Europe is consistent with the El Niño pattern.
A map showing the correlation coefficient between CPC relative ONI index and 2-m temperatures for MJJ 1979–2025. Weak positive correlation in western Europe and stronger negative correlation in eastern Europe.Detrended temperature anomaly for MJJ 2026. Hot in western Europe and cooler in eastern Europe.
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Mika Rantanen @mikarantane.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Interesting discussion going on about the forced warming and internal variability in the Arctic. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Uncertain internal variability in Arctic warming - Nature Geoscience
Nature Geoscience - Uncertain internal variability in Arctic warming
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Ed Hawkins @edhawkins.org · 24/08/2026
Over the weekend, a storm in the Baltic states caused significant disruption to power supplies and at least 2 deaths. An experimental reanalysis-based attribution approach suggests that ~20% more rain fell than if the same weather pattern had occurred in a world that was 1°C cooler.
A Baltic storm caused significant damage on 22nd August 2026, but more rain fell than would have done had the world been cooler.
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Copernicus ECMWF @copernicusecmwf.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
The daily global average sea surface temperature has reached its highest level on record. On 22 August 2026, data from the #CopernicusClimate showed 21.1°C, exceeding the previous record set in March 2024. 🔗Read the press release: climate.copernicus.eu/copernicus-d... @ecmwf.int ⬇️
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Mika Rantanen @mikarantane.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Both ERA5 (OSTIA system) and NOAA’s OISST show that global sea surface temperatures (SSTs) have climbed to new all‑time highs. What’s striking is that the annual peak is typically reached in March, after the southern hemisphere summer.
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Mika Rantanen @mikarantane.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
Perhaps a bit surprisingly, the weekend's storm was one of the most impactful on record in the Baltics. At least two fatalities and in total ~500 000 people without electricity in the three Baltic countries. apnews.com/article/cycl...
apnews.com
Powerful storm hits Baltic countries, killing 2 and leaving hundreds of thousands without power
A powerful cyclone has hit Latvia and Lithuania, leaving two people dead and more than half a million without electricity.
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Mika Rantanen @mikarantane.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Quite notable summer windstorm will arrive tomorrow in the Baltics and eastern Finland. Especially Estonia and the Gulf of Riga is directly at the path. Up to 100 mm of rainfall and gusty winds expected. On the other hand, not bad for the low water levels in eastern Finland.
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Mika Rantanen @mikarantane.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Viime pyhän 107,7 mm:n sademäärä Seinäjoen Pelmaalla oli "myöhäisin" yli 100 millimetrin sadesumma Suomessa. Yksittäisellä asemalla näin voimakas sade toistuu harvemmin kuin sadan vuoden välein, mutta Suomessa yli 100 mm:n vuorokausisateita havaitaan lähes joka toinen vuosi.
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Gergana Gyuleva @ggyuleva.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Radiation Trends Point to Higher Future Warming ‼️ 🌡️ How sensitive is Earth's climate to increasing CO₂ concentrations? Fresh insights in our new study: agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/... @retoknutti.bsky.social @erichfischer.bsky.social @sebastian-sippel.bsky.social
agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Recent Temperature and Energy Imbalance Trends Point to Higher Estimates of Future Warming
Recent surface warming and top-of-atmosphere energy imbalance point to higher future warming than previously estimated Previous constraints on transient climate response using observed surface te...
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Robert McSweeney @rtmcswee.carbonbrief.org · 19/08/2026
As El Niño is going to be in the news A LOT over the coming months, we felt it was time for a new @CarbonBrief explainer. And I think it's fair to say that the maps and figures in this look amazing ⬇️
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Mika Rantanen @mikarantane.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
August 2026 is still tracking record-warm globally, and the most recent 10-day forecast indicates substantial peak of global temperatures next week. Need to follow whether it is just one model run or consistent feature across consecutive forecasts.
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Peter Pfleiderer @klimapeter.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
What is changing with extreme European summers? 🥵 We look at many simulated 100-year summers in western Europe to find out how current day extreme summers differ from similarly rare pre-industrial summers. @robinnoyelle.bsky.social and @sebastian-sippel.bsky.social doi.org/10.1029/2026...
doi.org
Heat Extremes Within Hot Summer Seasons Intensify More Than in Average Summers Under Global Warming
Rare heat summers today (with ≈ 100-year return period) show a different evolution of sub-seasonal temperatures than similarly rare summers in pre-industrial climate. Faster drying of soils in cu...
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Mika Rantanen @mikarantane.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Yesterday, Seinäjoki Pelmaa recorded 68.6 mm of precipitation in one hour! As far as I know, that is the highest one-hour rainfall ever recorded in Finland. The event was caused by very stationary thunderstorms that formed in the evening under a low-pressure area.
A map showing the highest 60-minute rainfall amounts in Finland on 16.8.2026.Radar signature map of Finland showing the time when the heaviest rainfall was over Seinäjoki.
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John Kennedy @micefearboggis.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
If we compare an average temperature across the extratropical northern hemisphere from 30°N to 70°N as a function of longitude and compare June 1976 and June 2026 from GISTEMP it looks rather like my schematic. You can see a clear offset between the lines which have an otherwise similar pattern.
Graph showin GISTEMP June temperature anomalies 1976 vs 2026 as a latitude average from 30°N to 70°N. xaxis is longitude from 180°W to 180°E. yaxis is temperature anomaly. A blue line shows temperatures for June 1976 and a red line shows June 2026. The two lines wiggle up and down like a roller coaster but both wiggle in the same way only June 2026 is waaaaaay wamer than June 1976. The coldest parts of 2026 are about as warm as the warmest parts of 1976.
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Mika Rantanen @mikarantane.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
I came across a preprint about the recent June 2026 heatwave in Germany: egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/20... Sometimes it's hard to find two referees, sometimes you get more than two. This paper has eight (!!) referee comments. That's a lot of work for the authors to respond to all of them.
egusphere.copernicus.org
The June 2026 heatwave established a new benchmark for early-summer heat in German
Abstract. The June 2026 heatwave established a new benchmark for early-summer heat in Germany, producing the highest temperatures observed since instrumental records began and culminating in a new pro...
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Mika Rantanen @mikarantane.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Koko maan hellepäivien määrä on jäämässä varsin alhaiseksi viime vuosiin verrattuna. Nyt niitä on kasassa vasta 35, mikä on alhaisin määrä yhdeksään vuoteen. Jotain ajatuksia @suomenluonto.bsky.social -blogissa: suomenluonto.fi/vielako-tule...
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Met Office - weather and climate @metoffice.gov.uk · 11/08/2026
The impact of summer 2026 can perhaps best be seen from space Exceptional heat combined with limited rainfall has truly transformed the landscape across the UK
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Copernicus ECMWF @copernicusecmwf.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
🌡The July #C3S Climate Bulletin reports the joint‑second warmest July globally, 1.47°C above the pre‑industrial level. Western Europe saw its warmest June–July period on record amid persistent heatwaves. ⬇️
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Mika Rantanen @mikarantane.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
In terms of temperature anomaly for the last three months (MJJ 2026 period), France is the most anomalous country in the world with +2.8 °C above the 1991-2020 average.
Map showing 2-m temperature anomaly for May 2026 to Jul 2026 from ERA5 reanalysis. France and the whole western Europe is dark red, indicating much warmer than normal conditions.Bar diagram showing the top 10 and bottom 10 countries in terms of temperature anomalies from normal. France ranks the first warmest.
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Mika Rantanen @mikarantane.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Länsi-Euroopassa oli mittaushistorian kuumin kesä-heinäkuu "Tällainen itä-länsi-suuntainen kontrasti kesäsäässä on tyypillistä El Niño -vuosina", sanoo Ilmatieteen laitoksen tutkija Mika Rantanen Lue lisää tiedotteesta: www.ilmatieteenlaitos.fi/tiedote/2QeP...
Kuva Copernicuksen heinäkuun 2026 tiedotteesta (https://climate.copernicus.eu/surface-air-temperature-july-2026). Vasemmalla karttakuva kesä-heinäkuun lämpötilojen poikkeavuudesta. Oikealla aikasarjagraafi Länsi-Euroopan kesä-heinäkuun lämpötiloista.
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Mika Rantanen @mikarantane.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
August is off to have a warm start globally, according to the latest ECMWF 10-day forecast. Maybe even a record-warm month? (which would not be a surprise, given the pace of El Nino evolution).
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Mika Rantanen @mikarantane.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Proud to have the first manuscript from my first PhD student now out for discussion and review! This is a new tool for attributing daily and weekly temperatures that is aimed for FMI's (real-time) operational climate attribution. egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/20...
egusphere.copernicus.org
ATDT v1.0 – Attribution Tool for Daily-to-monthly Temperatures and its application to record-breaking Northern European heatwave of July 2025
Abstract. We present here ATDT (Attribution Tool for Daily-to-monthly Temperatures), a method for quantifying the effect of climate change on local daily mean, maximum and minimum temperatures as well...
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Zeke Hausfather @zekehausfather.com · 05/08/2026
The rise in Niño 3.4 region sea surface temperatures over the past few weeks has been nothing short of astonishing. We are now hotter than any days during the 1997/1998 super El Niño event, and we are still many months from the peak.
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Mika Rantanen @mikarantane.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
One more country to the 40 °C club! Pinsk, Belarus reached 40.4 °C today, setting a new national heat record. The list of European countries that have never reached 40 °C is getting smaller: basically just the Nordic and Baltic countries, and Ireland. Maybe some microstates too.
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