News of the week in plain Finnish | Saturday 11.7.2026

Summer weather phenomena.

Listen

You can read the news simultaneously below.

The weather has been in the news a lot this summer.

Hot weather in Central Europe has caused the deaths of thousands of people.

There has been heavy rain in Finland, but the wells are still drying up and the water levels are low.

Now let’s talk more about the weather.

(The week’s news in plain Finnish will not be broadcast today on Radio Suomeksi, which will broadcast from Tangomarkkino in the evening. You can listen to the plain Finnish broadcast on this website, Areena and Yle Mondo.)

Despite the rain, the wells are drying up

A man stands in the basement utility room of his cottage, where there is a washing machine.

Open image viewer

There are a few tens of centimeters of water at the bottom of Olavi Nenonen’s six-ring well in Pieksämäki. This summer, there will be no machine washing at Nenonen’s cottage. Photo: Esa Huuhko / Yle

There has been heavy rain in Finland in July. This has brought relief to those suffering from the heat. The temperature limit is 25 degrees Celsius.

However, the groundwater is low. Not all the water is absorbed into the soil when it rains a lot in a short period of time. The water runs off the surface into lakes, rivers and the sea.

The winter was snowy, and spring came early. The heavy rains of the summer have only raised the humidity to normal levels. That is why wells are drying up in different parts of Finland.

The groundwater level underground in some areas is lower than it has been in many decades.

The water level of large lakes can also be tens of centimeters lower than usual.

Skip the infographic

Heat deaths in Western Europe

People cool off in a fountain.

Open image viewer

In Berlin, Germany, people seek relief from the heat at a fountain. Photo: Mimmi Nietula / Yle

Thousands of deaths related to the heat have already been reported across Europe. In Germany, for example, more than 5,000 people died between April and the end of June.

At the end of June, a heat wave broke all-time temperature records in many European countries.

Severe wildfires have broken out in southern Europe, especially in the region of Andalusia, where at least 12 people have died and more than 20 are still missing.

Experts warn of extreme weather events

Two firefighters stand on a slope with low vegetation; a wildfire burns in the background, smoke rises into the air.

Open image viewer

Wildfires in Andalusia, Spain. Photo: Jose Jordan / AFP

Joonas Merikanto, a senior researcher at the Finnish Meteorological Institute, emphasizes that June’s temperature records are not isolated anomalies. Merikanto says they are part of rapid climate change.

The head of the World Health Organization, WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, warns that the heatwave is endangering the health of Europeans.

The head of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Jim Skea, has said that temperatures are exceeding some scientific predictions. He warns that Europe will experience more extreme events as the planet warms.

Repetition

Cracked brown and dry earth in the foreground. River in the background.

Open image viewer

Global warming is increasing extreme weather events. Some places may experience severe droughts, others heavy rains and floods. Photo: Gabriel Bendahan

Let’s say it again.

Thousands of people have died in Central Europe due to the heat.

There has been heavy rain in Finland, but the wells are drying up and the water levels are low.

A heat warning has been issued for the southern and central parts of the country for Sunday. There are also warnings of heavy rain and flooding in the southern parts of the country.

Here was the News of the Week in plain Finnish. See you again, bye!