Verkhoyansk

The agency said it has certified a 100.4-degree reading in the Russian town of Verkhoyansk last year as the highest temperature ever recorded in the Arctic.

Most of the blazes are in a region that saw possibly the hottest-ever temperature above the Arctic Circle this month.

Much of Siberia this year has had unseasonably high temperatures, leading to sizable wildfires.

The temperature in Verkhoyansk hit 38 degrees Celsius on Saturday, according to Pogoda i Klimat, a website that compiles Russian meteorological data.

This time weather experts think the blackout was caused by smoke from wildfires mixing with heavy rain clouds.

Melting permafrost, which some attribute to climate changes, is creating huge craters in Siberia. The craters are appearing as layers of ice melt, and larg