TERRA.WIRE
2006 the warmest year in Oslo since 1937
 OSLO, Jan 2 (AFP) Jan 02, 2007
 The average temperature in the Norwegian capital of Oslo was two degrees higher than normal in 2006, making it the warmest year since 1937 when recordings began, a study by Norwegian daily Aftenposten showed on Tuesday.

For the whole of Norway, December 2006 was the warmest ever recorded with temperatures 6.1 degrees Celsius above normal.

"The month of December held some surprises for us, with very high temperatures of 8.2 degrees (Celsius/46.8 degrees Fahrenheit) registered at Lindesnes in southern Norway, or 1.2 degrees C warmer than usual," a researcher at Norway's meteorological institute, Knut Arne Iden, told AFP.

He said the situation was particularly "dramatic" in the Svalbard archipelago, located above the Arctic circle.

The average annual temperature there is minus 6.7 degrees (19.9 degrees F). In 2006, it was minus 1.7 degrees (28.9 F).