Radio Selkouutiset Tuesday 19.12.2023
Iceland volcano. Economic forecasts. Nuclear power. Population of Finland. Weather.
Iceland’s volcano
A volcano erupts in Iceland.
The eruption began at night north of the small town of Grindavik. A state of emergency has been declared for the area. However, the police estimate that the people are not in danger.
The volcano is close to Reykjavík Airport. The airport is still open, but flights are delayed.
Experts say the eruption is unlikely to produce the kind of ash cloud that would halt air traffic. In 2010, ash from an Icelandic volcano badly disrupted air traffic in northern Europe.
The volcano erupts in Iceland for maybe up to 3 weeks.
Economic forecasts
The Bank of Finland has made a forecast on the development of the Finnish economy. The prognosis is pretty grim.
The Bank of Finland estimates that the Finnish economy will shrink by 0.5 percent this year. Next year, Finland’s economy will shrink by 0.2 percent. Earlier, the Bank of Finland predicted that the Finnish economy would pick up next year.
The Ministry of Finance has also made a forecast for the Finnish economy. The ministry estimates that the Finnish economy will grow by 0.7 percent next year.
Nuclear power
More nuclear power is produced in Finland than before.
Between January and September, nuclear power production increased by 32 percent from 2022.
More renewable electricity was also produced than last year. Solar power production increased by 63 percent and wind power production by 31 percent.
A total of 6 percent less electricity was consumed in Finland than in 2022.
Population of Finland
More people live in Finland now than before.
More than 5.6 million people live in Finland. Statistics Finland says that between January and November of this year, Finland’s population increased by more than 39,000 people.
The increase in Finland’s population is due to the fact that more people move to Finland from abroad than people move abroad from Finland.
Weather
Another weather forecast.
The weather will get colder on Wednesday and the whole country will have frost again. The sun shines in the south and west. It is mostly cloudy in the east and north. It’s snowing in places.