In the planet's hottest year on record, warming was especially dramatic in Alaska, federal scientists reported.
The past year -- Alaska's warmest since records began in 1918 -- the average temperature was 4.04 degrees Fahrenheit above the average posted from 1971 to 2000, according to the National Climatic Data Center at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Some notable Alaska weather was recorded just last month, the National Climatic Data Center said in its annual national report.
Fairbanks and McGrath had their warmest Decembers on record, and Anchorage posted the second-warmest December in the city's 101 years of recorded weather, the report said. Last month was the fifth-warmest December on record for the state overall, with a temperature 8.1 degrees Fahrenheit above the 1971-2000 average, the report said.
Alaska temperatures have been above the recorded average for 27 of the past 38 years, according to the National Climatic Data Center.
The story was similar elsewhere in the far north. Norway posted its warmest year on record, and Finland had its second-warmest year, according to meteorological agencies in those countries.
In Sweden, which also posted the warmest year since records began in the 1860s, hot summer conditions were linked to a huge wildfire that was the country's biggest in four decades. The Västmanland fire killed one person and forced the evacuation of thousands.