The Development of Meteorological Institutions and Early Instrumental Climate Data in the Nordic Countries

The Nordic countries share much, in terms of political and economic histories,
and geographically all countries border or lie within the Arctic Circle. This study
focuses on their shared history with regard to meteorological observations and
provides insights into this development from the 1700s until the establishment
of national meteorological institutes in the latter half of the 1800s. An overview
of the founding of these institutes is included. To our knowledge, this is the first
study to discuss and present the history of meteorological observations across
all Nordic countries together. Beginning in the 1700s, the study explores how
prevailing theories on climate and weather influenced the recording and analy-
sis of meteorological observations. Temperature records for each country are
presented using a novel approach to illustrate temperature increases up to the
present day. A cross-correlation analysis of temperature data indicates a strong
correlation between all Nordic capitals, except Reykjavik, highlighting Iceland’s
distinct climatic conditions even within the Nordic context. Finally, using the
Mann-Kendall trend analysis, we found that Copenhagen exhibits the highest
temperature trend among the Nordic capitals.