Surfing north of the Arctic Circle used to be a dare... now the world's northernmost surf school on Norway's Unstad beach is swamped with tourists. Climate change has made summers longer in northern Norway - and water-sports enthusiasts are diving in.
"Blue water - white sand beach... We didn't expect it to be so gorgeous," surfing beginner Julia Hodl told CGTN.
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The Arctic has been hit hardest by climate change, with temperatures rising there three times faster than the global average. In the Lofoten islands in northern Norway, winters have been getting one day shorter each year, making it possible to enjoy more time on the surfboard.
A 6-millimeter-thick wetsuit is needed, however, to feel comfortable at water temperatures around 8 degrees Celsius.
One northern Norwegian surf school was able to double its turnover in the last six years thanks to longer summers. /CFP
One of the archipelago's three surf schools - the 'Lofoten surfsenter' - was able to double its turnover in the last six years.
"It's just going up, up, up," says owner Kristian Breivik who already surfed in Unstad back in 1988 when he was 18 years old. The 'Unstad Arctic Surf' school next door also reported a steep increase in surf tourists.
"It's just May and it's so warm, like an August day," A Norwegian girl told CGTN after jumping into the water without a wetsuit.
For now, tourism in northern Norway seems to be profiting from climate change. But global warming also increases the risk of floods, landslides and rising sea levels - which can disrupt tourism and drastically change biodiversity in this beautiful part of the arctic.
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