UN Confirms , Record Breaking br High Temperatures , Around the World.br NPR reports that the United Nations confirmed br the Arctic hit a new record high temperature br over the summer, reaching over 100F. .br In a December 14 statement, the World Meteorological Organization called the record high temperature reading , "more befitting the Mediterranean than the Arctic.".br According to NPR, the reading was taken in the br Russian town of Verkhoyansk on June 20, 2020.br The temperature was reached amid br a Siberian heatwave which saw the region br reach above-normal temperatures.br This new Arctic record is one of br a series of observations reported br to the WMO Archive of Weather br and Climate Extremes that br sound the alarm bells about br our changing climate. , Petteri Taalas, WMO Secretary-General, via NPR.br In 2020, there was also a new br temperature record (18.3°C) br for the Antarctic continent, Petteri Taalas, WMO Secretary-General, via NPR.br According to the WMO, the Arctic region, "is among the fastest-warming br regions in the world.".br Due to the unprecedented temperatures, the WMO had br to add a new climate category to its database for , "highest recorded temperature at br or north of 66.5⁰, the Arctic Circle." .br The new Arctic record was only one br of many record-breaking high br temperatures reached in 2020 and 2021. .br The island of Sicily broke the record br high in Europe, reaching 119.8F. .br While one of the world's hottest locations, br California's Death Valley, reached a scorching 129.9F.