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WEATHER

Weather agency warns of further forest fire risk across Sweden

Sweden's weather agency SMHI has extended its weather warnings for grass and forest fires which now cover most of the country. Fire bans are in place in many areas.

Weather agency warns of further forest fire risk across Sweden
A firefighting plane unloads water during a training exercise in 2021. Photo: Johan Nilsson/TT

The risk for forest fires is now “very high” in many areas of southern Sweden, the agency warns, with an “extremely high” risk of forest fires in eastern Götaland, an area in the southeast of the country encompassing cities such as Linköping and Vimmerby.

In the north of Sweden, many areas have a high or very high risk of grass fires as last year’s dead grass is exposed by melting snow before new grass has time to take its place.

“Great care should be taken when lighting fires outside,” the agency writes, adding that fire bans are in place in many areas.

See a list of current fire bans in place here. Areas in green have no fire ban in place, while red or orange areas have either a fire ban or a “strict fire ban” in place.

During a fire ban, you are not permitted to light a fire with wood, coal, grass, branches or similar in any forest area, non-built up area or area where a fire could spread to a forest or other terrain.

You are allowed to grill or barbecue on your own property as long as the grill is in a suitable area so that there is a low risk of a fire spreading – for example, if the grill is placed on a heat-resistant surface. The same applies to restaurants or other commercial businesses on their own premises.

You are also permitted to grill in fixed barbecue areas in public parks, such as barbecue areas built in fireproof materials and surrounded by gravel or similar.

According to the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency, the fire risk is likely to increase throughout the week, peaking on Sunday.

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WEATHER

Spring has arrived in Sweden! Officially, at least…

You may not believe us, but according to the meteorological definition, spring has reached southern and western Sweden.

Spring has arrived in Sweden! Officially, at least...

As of Wednesday evening, spring has officially arrived in Gothenburg, Malmö, Lund, Helsingborg, Halmstad, Visby, Karlskrona and Mariestad, according to Sweden’s national weather agency SMHI.

By their definition, it’s spring when average daytime temperatures stay above freezing for seven days in a row.

You then count backwards, so spring started on the first day of that week – meaning that the above towns were able to welcome spring as early as February 15th.

Sweden’s method of measuring seasons means not only that it can be several seasons on the same day in different parts of the country, but that some locations sometimes skip an entire season.

The long-term trend is for spring to arrive earlier and earlier as a result of climate change, but February 15th is formally the earliest date it can arrive. Before then it’s either winter or autumn.

Readers living in central or northern Sweden will have to wait a bit longer.

Spring normally reaches central Sweden by March and northern Sweden by April.

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