Iceland, it’s known as the land of Fire and Ice–but usually the ‘fire’ refers to volcanoes not the roasting temperatures.

For the past couple days, several towns in eastern Iceland have seen record-breaking temperatures. In both Egilsstaðaflugvöllur (27.9°C) and Hallormsstaður (27.8°C), temperatures were the hottest ever recorded before the solstice. A persistent high-pressure system just south of Iceland has been pumping warmer air into the country’s east, prompting the Iceland Monitor to predict “better weather” in Iceland than in the Canary Islands. However, while good for bikinis and flip flops, such heat anomalies in Iceland have an icy side. Warming in the region has led to the rapid loss of glaciers in the country, affecting Europe’s largest glacier, Vatnajökull. This has led to changes both in local ecosystems and in wider planetary ones.

Find out more about how Arctic change affects climate vulnerability in Europe HERE.