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The LEO Network is a worldwide network of observers and experts that share their observations of environmental change.
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Observations

Sled dogs got loose and killed seven reindeer in Alta
Five sled dogs escaped near Jotka in Alta and chased a reindeer herd for up to two hours, leaving seven reindeer dead before owners and a herder regained control. Police have been notified, and the herder seeks an amicable settlement with the dog owners for losses and roundup costs.
Alta, Troms og Finnmark, Norway
NRK

Benn asks fishermen to report jellyfish: “Terrible to see the fish suffer!”
A salmon farm manager in Finnmark urges fishermen to report pearl necklace siphonophore (jellyfish) sightings after blooms caused skin and eye injuries and breathing problems in farmed salmon near Øksfjord/Hammerfest.
Øksfjord, Troms og Finnmark, Norway
iFinnmark

100 reindeer went through the ice – at least 20 died
Around one hundred reindeer broke through thin ice at Mierojávri, north of Kautokeino; at least 20 drowned. Rescuers had to abort because the ice was too thin to walk on and too thick to use their boat.
Kautokeino, Troms og Finnmark, Norway
NRK

‘All’ the cod is in the Loppa Sea: Took the entire quota in three days
Exceptionally large cod catches off Loppa and Hasvik, Finnmark, are allowing many small and mid-size boats to fill their quotas within days, and a record year in turnover is expected. Local leaders say boats from across Norway have flocked to the area, with landings markedly higher than last year.
Loppa and Hasvik, Finnmark, Norway
NRK

Driving zigzag between rocks on E45
Rockfall has sent stones onto the E45 at Kløfta in Alta, forcing motorists to zigzag between debris. Authorities warn of hazardous driving conditions and the situation is being updated.
Alta, Finnmark, Norway
iFinnmark

Water flooded over the road: Homeowner demands compensation
Heavy overnight rain in Loppa caused water to flood a private access road, leaving it badly damaged. The homeowner is seeking compensation after emergency repairs were needed.
Loppa, Troms og Finnmark, Norway
iFinnmark

Thought it was a mouse — then it spread its wings in Kautokeino
A resident in Kautokeino filmed what he first thought was a mouse, which turned out to be a small bat. A researcher says such a sighting this far north is rare and that the finder was lucky.
Kautokeino, Troms og Finnmark, Norway

Bright light seen in the sky over Finnmark: “It had incredible speed”
Residents across Finnmark reported a bright, fast-moving light in the sky on Saturday evening, with sightings from Alta, Lakselv, Tana and other places. The nature of the object remains unclear.
Alta, Finnmark, Norway

For every wild salmon in the trap, there have been 30 pink salmon – Frightening
In Kvænangen river traps caught a 30:1 ratio of invasive pink salmon to wild Atlantic salmon, requiring up to three emptyings per day.
Kvænangen, Troms og Finnmark, Norway
Nordlys

Tropical night in Troms
The Lenangsstraumen weather station in Lyngen, Nord-Troms recorded a tropical night with a minimum temperature of 20.1 °C overnight, part of an ongoing heat spell across Northern Norway.
Lyngen, Troms, Norway

World’s northernmost observation of Horned Lark: This is a world sensation
An ornithologist at Alta Airport in Finnmark, Norway identified a Horned Lark by its song, marking the northernmost ever record of the species, hailed as a global sensation.
Alta, Troms og Finnmark, Norway
Altaposten

Lyngen: Survivor recounts being buried in an avalanche
A 39‐year‐old Slovenian man recounts his dramatic ordeal of being buried under snow for over 7 hours during an avalanche in Lyngen, while rescuers continue searching for a missing woman.
Lyngen, Nord-Troms, Norway

Tractor almost taken off the sea in storm: "Now winter is coming"
A severe storm in Finnmark led to multiple warnings for wind gusts, snow, and high water levels, causing significant damage including a tractor nearly swept to sea and a pier destroyed.
Finnmark, Norway

Finnish Lapland hit by 30-year autumn warm spell
Temperatures reached a high of 11.2 degrees Celsius in Kilpisjärvi on Friday, compared to a high of -1.7 degrees on the same day last year.
Kilpisjärvi, Lapland, Finland

Believe they could have saved more of the 190 reindeer that went through the ice with the right equipment
Nearly 190 reindeer perished after falling through thin ice in Finnmark, revealing a lack of proper rescue equipment and the need for better emergency preparedness in reindeer herding communities.
Kautokeino, Finnmark Fylke, Norway

The glaciers in Finnmark are melting the fastest of Norway's glaciers
The glaciers in Finnmark, particularly the Øksfjordjøkelen, are melting rapidly, with significant shrinkage observed each year, raising concerns about climate change impacts.
Øksfjordjøkelen, Loppa, Finnmark
Kristina Brekke, Hanne Larsen, Bent Lindsetmo, Kai Erik Bull, Vanja Ulfsnes

Huge slush avalanche over E6 in Alta: Two cars have been taken
A large ice flow washed two cars onto Leirbotnvann in Alta, while large blocks of ice blocked the E6.
Stokkdalselva, Leirbotnvann, Alta , Troms and Finnmark County, Norway

The European Arctic suffers through a heat wave
Temperatures surpassed 30 degrees Celsius across northern Scandinavia on Wednesday and many meteorological stations hit new record high temperatures for June. The thermometer in Saltdal, northern Norway, reached 31.6 degrees C. Further inside the Arctic Circle, at 69 degrees north in Skibotn east of Tromsø, the temperature was 31.7 degrees (89 F).
Skibotn, Troms, Norway
ArcticToday

Challenging pastures for reindeer: Difficult conditions in Nordland and Troms, grazing crisis in Indre Finnmark
Changing weather with a lot of snow, rain and strong frost with icing, has made it difficult for the reindeer to reach lichen and moss on the ground in Nordland.
Indre Finnmark, Troms og Finnmark Fylke, Norway

25-30 reindeer drowned in the river today
25-30 reindeer drowned in the Kautokeino River today after a herd of reindeer passed through the ice. The accident happened when the herd of reindeer was crossing the fragile ice on the river. This is the third similar incident in the area in a couple of weeks. Yesterday, three reindeer went through the ice. They were all rescued alive. This article is also available in the Sami language at this
Heammogietti, Kautokeino, Troms og Finnmark fylke, Norway

Watch: Skaters glide on mirror-like ice
Scientists measured 16 centimeters of snow in Kilpisjärvi on Thursday, which is far less than the average depth of 39 centimeters for this time of year, according to Siiskonen. Less of the white stuff than usual, creating unusual opportunities for long-distance skating enthusiasts.
Kilpisjärvi, Lapland, Finland
Yle Uutiset

Ábborášša reindeer owners feel that they were forced to move over thin ice
The reindeer owners feel they had to choose. Pay expensive fines or move with the reindeer across the river even if the ice was too thin. On Saturday, a thousand reindeer went through the ice in Vuorašjávri, a mile east of Kautokeino municipality in Finnmark.
Vuorašjávri, Kautokeino, Finnmark Fylke, Norway

Miners hunting for metals to battery cars threaten Sámi reindeer herder's homeland
Tuomas Siilasjoki and Minna Näkkäläjärvi say they were taken by surprise when a mobile drill rig one day appeared in the horizon. Nobody had asked them about exploring for minerals inside their siida, a reindeer foraging area, in northern Finland.
The Independent Barents Observer

Major flooding in Finnmark: Red danger warning in several municipalities
The great flood has come to Finnmark. Since Sunday evening, several homes have been evacuated and a primary school in Alta has been closed. On Monday morning, the E6 stretch of Lakselv-Karasjok was also closed.
Finnmark
Ida Louise Rostad Journalist Eirik Sørenmo Påsche Journalist Mariam Eltervåg Cissé Journalist Frida Ravna Rømo Journalist Erik Andreassen Journalist Linda Pedersen Journalist Torgeir Varsi Fotograf

Second Landslide Destroys Road in Northern Norway
Eight houses were taken into the sea by the powerful landslide measuring 650 metres wide.
Alta, Finnmark Fylke, Norway
Life in Norway

Continued risk of floods and landslides
There is still a lot of snow melt remaining and continued risk of flooding and landslides in large parts of the country. Now experts are hoping for the least amount of rainfall to avoid the most dramatic situations.
Alta, Finnmark Fylke, Norway

Large landslides have passed in Alta
One person was evacuated and brought to safety after the landslide at Kråkneset in Alta municipality. A total of eight buildings were swept to the sea in the 650-metre landslide. Due to a high avalanche risk, police have still not entered the area.
Kråkenes, Alta, Norway
Sofie Dege Dimmen, Ida Loise Rostad, Idun Aalbu Rasmussen, Jo Hermstad Tronsen

Thousands of reindeer calves at risk of dying due to long winter
There is concern in the reindeer industry for the prolonged winter cold in the far north – unless the heat comes soon, this year's calves risk dying.
Sápmi
Sveriges Radio

The fourth snowiest March in history
In March, several stations in Troms and Finnmark received about three times the normal precipitation. Nationwide, March was the fourth most precipitation-rich since measurements began in 1900.
Troms and Finnmark

Difficult grazing conditions for reindeer
In Karasjok and Kautokeino, there has been greater snowfall than usual on winter pastures. The difficulty in digging down to pasture is effecting reindeer in large parts of Troms and Finnmark.
Ivgobahta, Troms, Norway
Troms og Finnmark

Much Snow
It is so much snow, more than usual this time of the year.

Unusually warm in Northern Norway
You wouldn't think it was early January.
Birtavarre værstasjon
Meterologene, Meterologisk Institutt (The Norwegian Meteroligical Institute)

Climate change thaws permafrost
Nils Thomas discovered "sinkhole" in the middle of Finnmarksvidda. Scientists have long warned against this, and now it happened.
Vuohcetjávri, Kautokeino

Researchers find high levels of microplastics on Norway’s Arctic coast
Eastern Finnmark, on the coast of the Barents Sea has always proved to be the cleanest of all areas of testing in the North Atlantic. But not so any more.
Hasvik, Finnmark Fylke, Norway
Arctic Today

Researcher Strikes Alarm: May Mean Death to the Reindeer
A small caterpillar has already infected large areas of Norway's largest county. Scientists fear this may be the beginning of something far worse.
Alta, Finnmark Fylke, Norway
NRK Sápmi

Mange grågås (greylag geese - Anser anser) på Spildra
Many Greylag Goose on Spildra, Norway
Spildra, Kvænangen, Norway

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