Siberia: Still Baking and Burning

The map above shows how temperatures departed from the long-term average in Siberia July 20-27, 2013. (Image: NASA Earth Observatory) Last Sunday I posted a story about fires blazing in Siberia, which had been baking in near-record temperatures for over a week. Now, NASA's Earth Observatory has produced this map with an accompanying piece documenting just how hot temperatures have been in the region. The reddest colors indicate where high temperatures were more than 15 degrees C warmer than the long term average between July 20 and 27. The northern city of Norilsk is in one of those red areas. Daily high July temperatures there typically average 16 degrees C (61 degrees F). But during that week they soared to 32 degrees C (90F). Norilsk, among other places, is not expected to see much relief for awhile. Highs in the upper 80s and low 90s are forecast for the weekend. ...