Finland's climate may get warmer by up to 3-5°C in the next fifty years. According to the climate scenario development models conceived by the Finnish Meteorological Institute, the climate will warm up in any event, but just how much will depend on the future choices for energy production.
The amount of rainfall is likely to increase as well.
A transition towards more environmentally friendly energy production methods would slow down the warming process, but even then the warming still seems inevitable.
A slower change, however, would make it easier for nature to adopt itself to new conditions.
The worst-case scenario would result from an increase in the use of fossil fuels. This would raise the amount of ozone in the lower atmosphere, which in turn might present a threat to forest growth in the entire country.
The climate study is part of the Finnish Global Change Research Programme, FIGARE.
