A capercaillie has been roaming around central Överkalix for several weeks, surprising residents. A local photographer captured the bird on camera as a bird expert offers possible explanations for the unusual urban visit.

A wolf-like animal was filmed near Jarhois in Pajala, and a reindeer was found killed the next day in nearby Kardis, prompting local hunters to keep their dogs at home during moose hunting. The sightings have raised concern in the community close to the Övertorneå border.

A Eurasian hoopoe, rare in Finland, has been visiting a yard in Pello, Lapland, for a week, likely carried north by southerly airflows.

This summer brought unusually few mosquitoes to Norrbotten, allowing many to hike in the mountains without being bitten due to a dry spring and cool early summer.

SOS Alarm in Norrbotten, Sweden is experiencing extreme call volumes from approximately 20 fires triggered by lightning in a heatwave, resulting in delayed emergency response times.

Several wildfires broke out across Överkalix and other parts of Norrbotten following a thunderstorm and lightning strikes on July 22, 2025, overwhelming local emergency services.

Volunteer firefighting flights in Norrbotten faced their most hectic period ever when a Sunday thunderstorm sparked multiple lightning-ignited wildfires, creating a “wall of lightning” that hindered access across Gällivare, Kiruna, Pajala and Porjus.

The Finnish Meteorological Institute reports that July 2025 was exceptionally warm across Finland, with Lapland’s Ylitornio experiencing a record 26-day heatwave.

Norrbotten experienced one of its longest recorded heatwaves, with temperatures exceeding 25 °C for over two weeks and setting century-old records in Haparanda and Jokkmokk, according to SMHI.

The Torne River on the border between Sweden and Finland has swelled to almost five metres above its usual level in certain parts, due to melting snow ...

Grass and forest fires are proving difficult to contain in Finnish Lapland, and now several fires on the Russian side of the border are moving into Finland.

Finland's ski centres are coping with shorter, milder winters by making and storing snow – costly short-term solutions that may worsen the problem in the longer term.