Why hottest May on record for Greenland and Iceland is bad news for the world
A recent analysis indicates that human-caused climate change amplified Iceland and Greenland 's temperatures during a record-setting May heat wave, raising concerns about the global implications of melting Arctic ice.
During the heat wave, the Greenland ice sheet melted at an accelerated rate, with some areas in Iceland experiencing temperatures over 10°C (18°F) above average, and setting a May record of 26.6°C (79.9 F) at Egilsstadir Airport.
Scientists warn that the melting Greenland ice sheet could disrupt global climate and weather patterns by slowing down the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, an ocean current that influences weather in the Northern Hemisphere.
The May heat wave, which increased the length of the melting season, also threatens Indigenous communities in Greenland due to dangerous travel conditions caused by thawing sea ice, impacting access to hunting locations.
Amidst discussions about Greenland 's future, Greenland 's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen has asserted that Greenland will never be a property for sale, emphasizing the importance of addressing climate change and its impacts on the territory.
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Times
4 hours ago
- Times
16 of the best hotels in Norway
There's no shortage of variety when it comes to Norway's accommodation scene. Among our favourites are swanky, design-led hotels at the foot of mighty mountains; avant garde city escapes hugging the shores of bluer-than-blue fjords; fire-warmed log cabins secreted away in forests where reindeer roam; igloos freshly sculpted with the first dump of winter snow; and an ultra-luxe boutique hideaway with a Michelin-starred restaurant in its basement. Masters of reinvention, the Norwegians also love to breathe new life into old bones: cue 16th-century trading posts, fish warehouses, banks or barns reborn as glam places by venerable architects. Hotels here aren't cheap but, then again, you'll never forget seeing the rising sun illuminate a fretwork of fjords or the northern lights dancing above high Arctic peaks. This is our pick of the best hotels in Norway. This article contains affiliate links, which may earn us revenue £ | SPA | POOL | Best for a natural high Perched atop Ronvikfjellet and rising high above the Arctic city of Bodo like a beacon of sustainability, Wood Hotel is a vision of Scandi-style, back-to-nature minimalism. Slotting neatly into the gorgeous surrounding landscape of snow-dusted peaks and forests, the hotel is constructed mainly from wood and powered by solar energy. It bills itself as an 'outdoor hotel' and rightly so, with trails threading up into the mountains, ebike rental and a nearby via ferrata — protected climbing route — to try. That's if you can drag yourself away from the hotel itself, which charms with its restaurant putting imaginative twists on revived Norwegian family recipes, eighth-floor heated outdoor pool gazing out over city, peak and fjord, and traditional steam sauna. Midnight sun or northern lights? You choose. ££ | SPA | POOL | Best for art deco ambience Bringing a touch of glamour to Oslo's well-heeled Frogner neighbourhood, just steps from the Royal Palace, this addition to the Norwegian capital's hotel scene is a knockout. Behind the red-brick, 1930s façade of the city's former electrical company, the London and New York design practice GrecoDeco has worked wonders. Cue 231 rooms and suites that expertly weave together original features like wood panelling, chandeliers, patterned tiles, a palette of deep reds and greens and art deco patterns with contemporary simplicity and comfort. But you don't just come to sleep, you come for culture: in the hotel's library, its retro, gold-kissed cinema and its brasserie where jazz bands regularly play. Add to this a rooftop Norwegian-Japanese restaurant, street food and cocktail bar, a spa with sleep clinic, an outdoor pool with far-reaching views over city and fjord, and beautifully revamped public baths, festooned with Per Krohg's mosaics of swimming women and seals, and you are looking at one very special place to stay. Read our full review of Sommerro £££ | SPA | Best for rustic relaxation Spread across a cluster of dark-timber, turf-roofed houses, on a hillside looking out across west-coast Storfjord and the Sunnmore Alps, Storfjord really couldn't be more Norwegian. Inside, the boutique retreat seduces with candles, fireplaces, an intimate spa with a forest-facing Jacuzzi, and a low-key gourmet restaurant bigging up local produce. The atmosphere in the nouveau-rustic rooms is as warm as a hug, with handcrafted log walls, muted colours, tweeds and down duvets. Borrow walking poles, fishing rods (there are some serious cod to catch in these waters), snowshoes and boats. Or find your own private nook to read, write, rest and dream. • Discover our full guide to Norway ££ | Best for a woodland escape Forget bending down on one knee and popping open a ring box: when Kjartan wanted to propose to the love of his life — Sally, from Sydney — he built her the treehouse of her wildest dreams. And so the seeds for this staggering retreat were sown. Perched like eyries in tall pines above the mountain-rimmed, sapphire-blue Hardanger Fjord and reached via a stiff uphill hike, these sustainable, wooden, shingle-clad tree houses in Odda have been designed to resemble Norwegian pine cones. Architects were brought in to help design the rustic-chic, black-alder interiors, with wraparound windows framing fjord views, handcrafted chairs and underfloor heating. Dreamiest of the lot are the mountaintop treehouses, which come with hand-carved wooden bathtubs, beds lowered from the ceiling, and sensational views over the forest canopy. Breakfast includes locally baked sourdough, eggs, juice and coffee. £££ | Best for food lovers 'Boutique' has become a bit of a catch-all, but Eilert Smith in the fjordside city of Stavanger really nails it: just 12 individually designed rooms echoing the building's 1930s architecture, and three-Michelin-star, 25-cover RE-NAA in the basement, riffing creatively on the finest seafood plucked from local waters. This is not just a hotel but an act of love — architects have aimed for the avant garde, but have carefully preserved original curves, geometric patterns and modernist materials, such as travertine, brass, marble and wood. Furniture is custom-made, colours are pure and the light streaming in through slim horizontal windows is quite special. Plump for the penthouse suite, spun around a spiral staircase and looking out across Stavanger harbour. ££ | SPA | POOL | Best for a superb spa Hunkering down on the northern shore of slender Tingvoll fjord in western Norway, this charmingly whitewashed, timber-fronted hotel is a delicious slice of preserved heritage: it acted as a trading post back in the 1500s, when ships from Holland sailed here to buy timber. Most rooms have soothingly pretty views of the fjord and are classic in design — soft greys and creams, warm lighting and tarted-up antiques. The restaurant is more of a traditional, woody affair, with a chef taking pride in local sourcing from nearby farms and fjords. The clincher, however, is Badehuset Spa, lodged in a converted, glass-walled 18th-century granary overlooking the fjord, with hot baths, a sauna and luscious treatments. £££ | Best for seaside style On a peninsula slinging its hook into the North Sea, Alesund is one of Norway's most vibrant and fetching port towns, with a parade of gabled, candy-coloured art nouveau houses casting mirror images in the Brosundet canal. An intimate, family-run affair, this reimagined fishing warehouse combines one-of-a-kind architecture with minimalist edge and contemporary elegance. A huge fire blazes away in the lobby, which soars up to a central gallery, and rooms riff modern on the Nordic look in charcoals, chocolates and whites, with hints of the building's original flair in arched windows and exposed beams. They've thought of the lot: a corner café for locally brewed coffee, much-lauded restaurant Apotekergata No 5 serving just-caught seafood, a cocktail bar and a glam fitness and wellness area. Romance-wise, it has to be room 47 in Molja Lighthouse at the end of the jetty. £££ | Best for city life An ode to the 19th-century Norwegian composer and pianist Edvard Grieg, this modern classic hotel is run by his descendants. Originally Bergen's swankiest bank, the building echoes its past with marble columns, polished granite and weighty chandeliers, while taking a definite leap into more contemporary waters with sleek furnishings, bespoke wall coverings and occasional flashes of punchy colour. You're right in the heart of things here on Vagsallmenningen, one of Bergen's most photogenic squares, just paces from historic Bryggen waterfront, the fish market and the funicular trundling up to Mount Floyen. The handsome brasserie delivers afternoon tea with a splash of sophistication, while on Sunday evenings the bar swings to live jazz. • Best places to visit in Norway• Great hotels in Oslo ££ | Best for a sense of history Walaker reclines dream-like on the shores of Lustrafjord, which reaches out a startlingly blue finger to touch the high, glaciated peaks of Jotunheimen and Jostedalsbreen national parks. It's here that you'll find Norway's oldest hotel — run by the Nitter family since 1690, it's a historic retreat that doesn't give a damn about the 21st century. The cream-timber villa sits in lush floral gardens spilling down to the fjord, and rooms charm with heritage wall coverings and heavy antique furnishings. Dinner — served at 7.30pm sharp — is a set-menu feast of fjord-fished seafood, forest venison, mushrooms and fruits. Old-fashioned and insanely idyllic, Walaker Hotel is somewhere you'll remember and rave about for ever. £££ | SPA | POOL | Best for five-star luxury Trondheim is Norway's historic city poster-child, with its heart-stealing fjord setting, upbeat vibe and flurry of great restaurants, cafés and museums. Do it in style by staying at the Britannia, which opened its doors in 1870 to attract British aristocrats off to fish for the world's best salmon. Looking dashing after a top-to-toe makeover, its rooms evoke a Nordic winter in silvers, whites and greys, with handcrafted Hastens beds and Carrara marble bathrooms. Top billing, if budget is irrelevant, goes to the vast, extravagantly opulent Tower Suite, with its own grand piano and butler kitchen. After a romp around town, the skylit Palmehaven (for afternoon tea), domed spa, Michelin-starred restaurant and dark, sexy wine cellar await. £££ | SPA | POOL | Best for boutique style A burst of dark, new-Nordic glamour on Tjuvholmen ('Thief Island'), right opposite the Renzo Piano-designed Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art, the Thief is Oslo's hottest boutique ticket. Nordic architects, interior designers and curators conjured up this wonder in glass and granite, filling it with nooks, flattering light, rich colours and eye-grabbing works by Damien Hirst and Jeff Koons. Gold-kissed rooms with floor-to-ceiling windows capture the light and moods of Oslofjord, the rooftop restaurant plays up inventive, season-driven cuisine, and the backlit spa and grotto-like pool make this hands-down Norway's sexiest city escape. Read our full review of The Thief ££ | Best for a base in the wilderness As the final frontier before the North Pole, Svalbard is where Norway takes a serious turn for the wilder — an archipelago home to more polar bears than people. The final flicker of civilisation is Longyearbyen on the island of Spitsbergen, the world's northernmost settlement. In winter, this is a wondrous place of bone-chilling cold and stark beauty, best seen by dog sled or snowmobile as the aurora flashes away in the sky. Conservation-focused Basecamp Explorer is a cracking base, designed like a modern-rustic trapper's lodge, with rooms filled with driftwood, sealskins, maps and pictures of explorers, and a snug lounge for post-expedition chilling. Better still, they arrange all kinds of fun, from glacier hikes to dog-sledding and multi-day snowmobile trips into the Arctic proper. ££ | Best for great hospitality Out on a limb, Roisheim sits on the cusp of Jotunheimen National Park, where glaciers glint atop dark, fang-like mountains and Norway's highest peak — 2,469m (8,100ft) Galdhopiggen — rises. Set discreetly between the pleats and folds of forested slopes, this reborn 19th-century coaching inn enchants with 14 tar-painted, turf-roofed, timber houses — all faithfully restored with features such as fireplaces, hand-painted four-poster beds and wooden bathtubs. Artists, playwrights, weary travellers and mountaineers have long flocked here for warm hospitality, big wilderness and food that sings heartily of the seasons — a winning mix. £££ | Best for a real igloo experience In Alta in the high Arctic, the aurora regularly dances in clear night skies — as you might expect from the town that is home to the Northern Lights Cathedral. In the snows of winter, from late December to early April, Sorrisniva is magical. Ice sculptors are drafted in to handcraft its igloos, where you can spend a surprisingly comfortable night in a reindeer hide-draped ice bed after a day snowshoeing, tobogganing, or dog or reindeer sledding. There's even a chance to get crafty and hook onto a two-hour crash course in ice sculpting. Grog at the ice bar warms you up nicely for dinners expertly knocked up with locally sourced reindeer, moose, seafood and wild berries. Should you be planning to tie the knot, there's even an ice chapel. Igloos fully booked? Retreat to the Scandi-chic Arctic Wilderness Lodge instead. £££ | Best for brilliant views More nature-inspired art installation than hotel, Juvet is beautifully caught between mountain and fjord. Floor-to-ceiling glass walls act as the frame for changing lights, weathers and entrancing views over forested slopes and the Valldola River. The log houses are contemporary, monochrome and purist in design: from cubic, stilt-perched 'Landscape Rooms' to tinier, simpler 'Bird Houses'. The stripped-back look and lack of curtains is intentional so as not to detract from the wonder of the outdoors; for more space and luxury, book the Writer's Lodge. After skiing, rafting or soul-searching hiking, return to the cocoon-like warmth of the riverside bathhouse and eat incredibly well in the revamped century-old cow barn. £££ | Best for icy beauty Far north of the Arctic Circle, this eco-minded fantasy escape sits in a ludicrously beautiful spot, where the dark Finnmark Alps whoosh up above steel-blue Jokelfjord and a glacier calves directly into the sea. If the setting is dramatic, the modern-day glass igloos, or geodesic domes, are coolly understated in true Scandi style: icy palettes of blues and greys, goose-down duvets, slickly designed furniture, wood-fired stoves, telescopes and vast windows for fjord, star and northern lights gazing. After a day boating out to the glacier, whale watching, dog sledding or ski touring, your hosts whip up feasts of local reindeer, fish and berries. Oh, and did we mention the sauna and outdoor hot tub by the sea? Isbreen is open year round, but it's pure Narnia in winter. Additional reporting by Kerry Christiani and Richard Mellor • Best things to do in Norway• Best northern lights tours What's your favourite hotel in Norway? Please share in the comments below
Telegraph
a day ago
- Telegraph
The world's ‘most peaceful country' is the perfect holiday destination for our turbulent times
Clustered in a valley below an arc of snow-streaked mountains, 1,320 boulders have been carefully arranged, some bearing a metal cross. Amassed by amateur history enthusiast Sigurður Hansen, the 600-tonne basaltic burial ground in Kakalaskáli pays homage to warriors killed in the Battle of Haugsnes in 1246 – the bloodiest period of unrest in Icelandic history. Significantly, there hasn't been a major conflict since. Once notorious for the furious frays, Viking rampages and clan warfare documented in the Icelandic Sagas, this windswept Nordic nation is now praised for being one of the most placid places in the world. Announced earlier this week, Iceland has topped the Global Peace Index for the 18th year in a row. At a time when political tensions are escalating globally, it's refreshing to find a country where war is a word found only in history books. There's no army, navy or air force, and the only blasts ever heard are volcanic rumblings from the earth's core. So what's the secret to keeping the peace for almost 800 years? The most obvious answer is survival; a small population in a remote location has no option but to stick together. I was reminded of this fact last year on a trip to Iceland's Highlands. A few hours after I arrived, the mountain rescue service was alerted to a distress call from a missing hiker. A team of committed volunteers spent 48 hours searching day and night from land and air for what turned out to be a hoax. But fully aware of notoriously unpredictable weather, nobody takes any chances. 'Surviving in Iceland's harsh conditions has always required cooperation, not confrontation,' says Stefanía Dröfn Egilsdóttir, account manager at Visit Iceland, who grew up in a village of 300 people in the Westfjords. 'Maybe it's because we're a small society – everyone knows someone who knows someone, so there's a natural incentive to be kind and fair.' This is, after all, home to one of the oldest parliamentary institutions in the world. From as early as 930AD, leaders would gather to discuss matters of law at Thingvellir, a canyon along the Mid-Atlantic ridge. The Eurasian and North American plates may be drifting apart, but matters of international diplomacy remain stable. Iceland has no natural enemies. (Unless you count the time England crashed out of the European Championships in 2016, a shock result local football fans still regale.) Of course that doesn't mean disagreements don't occur. But people are more likely to use words as weapons rather than force. 'Through the ages we have made do with writing hateful verses about those who vex us instead of using violence,' says professional poet Gerður Kristný, who lives in capital Reykjavík. 'Icelanders see themselves as a nation of literature and we use what we have, the gift of poetry.' She has a point. Writers, poets and artists have never shied away from the darker sides of life. To assume this is a happy-clappy Utopia on a par with Disney's Magic Kingdom would do Icelanders an enormous disservice. Traditional tales of child-eating ogres and thieving trolls are hardly Beatrix Potter. But tales of horror stay within the pages of storybooks. 'There are a lot of ways to calm your inner demons in Iceland,' adds Kristný. 'I recommend listening to the falling of snow.' Nature is universally known for its ability to heal, especially in the extreme wilderness. 'There is something soothing to your mindset when you wake up and breathe fresh air every morning, look at the mountains outside your window and hear birds singing,' says Marteinn Briem, who runs city tours through CityWalk Reykjavik. Ironically, a landscape of active volcanoes, unstable ice caves and melting glaciers has the potential to cause grave destruction. But such powerful natural forces also command respect and humility, quashing any over-inflated egos and reminding us we are a blip in the history of time. 'Nature brings us peace in its own quiet way,' adds fellow Reykjavik resident Hrafnhildur Þórisdóttir. 'It surrounds us and creates a sense of calm. All year round, we enjoy the beauty of Icelandic nature – from the bright summer nights and colourful autumn to snow-covered winter mountains and the first flowers of spring. 'Life here moves at a relatively slow pace. After a day of work, we can unwind in hot pools, go for a walk in nature or enjoy arts and culture.' Whether drinking a beer in the Blue Lagoon or stuck in a snowdrift on top of a mountain, I've always felt at peace in Iceland. Residents often leave their doors unlocked, children cycle freely along main roads and babies frequently sit outdoors in strollers unaccompanied. How could you not feel safe?
Reuters
a day ago
- Reuters
Sustainable Switch Climate Focus: Storms hit China and Mexico
June 20 - This is an excerpt of the Sustainable Switch Climate Focus newsletter, where we make sense of companies and governments grappling with climate change on Fridays. To receive the full newsletter in your inbox for free sign up here. Hello, This week's Climate Focus takes a look at the storms that have wreaked havoc across China and Mexico. Central and southern China were on high alert for more flash floods on Friday as the annual East Asia monsoon gathered pace and extreme rainfall threatened disruption in the world's second-largest economy. Extreme rainfall and severe flooding, which meteorologists link to climate change, increasingly pose major challenges for policymakers. They threaten to overwhelm ageing flood defences, displace millions and wreak havoc on China's $2.8 trillion agricultural sector. China's rainy season, which arrived earlier than usual this year in early June, is usually followed by intense heat that scorches any crops that survive waterlogged soil, depletes reservoirs and warps roads and other infrastructure. Economic losses from natural disasters exceeded $10 billion last July, when the rainfall typically peaks. Over in Mexico, Hurricane Erick weakened to a tropical storm after making landfall on the southern Pacific coast on Thursday, leaving flooded streets and damaged boats and buildings in Oaxaca as authorities warned of dangerous rains. In coastal towns, residents began clearing debris. "There are many boats sunk here," fisherman Eduardo Gonzalez said in Puerto Escondido. "We're here to help our colleagues." "Life-threatening flooding and mudslides are expected, especially in areas of steep terrain," the U.S. National Hurricane Center said, forecasting up to 8 inches (20 cm) of rain for Guerrero state with up to 4 inches for its neighboring Oaxaca and Michoacan states. Mexico's environment ministry also had warned of waves of up to 10 meters (33 feet). WHAT TO WATCH - Saving the seas:Click here for a video on marine scientists working to restore underwater forests in Greece's northern Cyclades and click here for a Reuters story on scientists demanding action to protect environmentally important meadows of seagrass at Croatia's Dugi Otok island in the Adriatic Sea. Do check out this Reuters story on the vital underwater forest in the cold seas off Chile's arid northern coast that scientists say are threatened by warming oceans and human pollution. CLIMATE LENS Water watch: Since 2014, India has lost 60.33 billion units of coal-power generation across the country - equivalent to 19 days of coal-power supply at June 2025 levels - because water shortages force plants to suspend generation, according to federal data. Click here for a Reuters analysis on India's coal power boom facing challenges with water supplies. NUMBER OF THE WEEK $10 billion That's the amount raised in deals at a United Nations conference to protect the world's oceans – way below the estimated annual need – as investors seek clearer regulation on ocean management before committing funds. Between 2015 and 2019, only $10 billion was invested against the U.N. estimate of $175 billion in required annual funding. Think your friend or colleague should know about us? Forward this newsletter to them. They can also subscribe here.
