Coldest start to summer in Sweden since 1928

STOCKHOLM (AFP) Jul 07, 2004
Sweden has experienced the coldest start to summer since 1928, with cool temperatures and frequent showers leaving sun worshippers pale and chilled and flocking to travel agents to book holidays in the sun.

The country has experienced no extended warm period yet this year, the Swedish meteorological institute SMHI said on Wednesday.

The highest temperature reported in Sweden so far was 27.4 degrees Celsius (81 degrees Fahrenheit) in the town of Gaevle, north of the capital Stockholm, on June 3.

Not since 1928 has the highest temperature been so low at this point in the summer, SMHI said.

Apart from that peak in the mercury, Sweden's summer weather has so far been characterized by rain and cool temperatures. In Stockholm in June, the average temperature was 14.6 degrees Celsius, one degree lower than the 30-year average for the month.

Thunderstorms were reported on 11 days in June in the southern Svealand region, which includes Stockholm, where twice as much rain fell during the month as usual.

As the tabloids' front pages regularly provide readers with tips on where to find the sun in Sweden, travel agents have reported a marked rise in trips to warmer climes, with a number of destinations sold out.

TERRA.WIRE