Pori

An extended period of hot, dry weather is affecting the harvest outlook and impacting grain growth. Even the wild berry season, which was off to a good start, may be in peril.

A high of 14.7 degrees Celsius was measured in the southwestern city of Pori on Monday night.

An exceptionally warm air current from the southeast has kept days and nights unseasonably mild in southern and central Finland since last week. Meanwhile the north of the country has been shivering with rain and temperatures in the single digits. The highest reading in decades was recorded in Kokemäki, southwest Finland.

More than 40,000 households faced blackouts overnight.

BirdLife Finland reports that Finnish populations of the common pochardhave plummeted by 80 percent in 20 years.