Abstract. This study investigates how increasing greenhouse gas concentrations may affect environmental conditions favourable for thunderstorms over Fennoscandia. The future scenarios are based on data produced with the HARMONIE-Climate convection-permitting regional climate model forced by two global climate models at the lateral boundaries. The distribution of thunderstorm-favourable days, defined as days with co-occurring conditional instability and precipitation, in model data compares well with observed thunder days in May–September 2002–2018 across the study domain. By 2081–2100, the area-average frequency of favourable days is projected to increase by approximately 40–185 % in Finland, 30–185 % in Sweden, and 15–210 % in Norway relative to 1986–2005 under the RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 emission scenarios. Projected increases are largest over the northern Fennoscandia and in simulations exhibiting stronger warming. Thunderstorm-favourable conditions occurring simultaneously with strong vertical wind shear are also simulated to become more common, suggesting more frequent potential for severe organized convection in a future climate. More research is needed to understand how the changes in general storm-favourable environmental conditions may affect actual hazard occurrence. The results support the use of the HARMONIE-Climate model for convective storm scenario studies and offer valuable context for climate change adaptation in Fennoscandia.

Effective climate change adaptation requires climate information that is not only scientifically robust but also aligned with the diverse needs of end users operating at regional, national, and local scales. These needs vary widely across sectors such as public authorities, municipalities, emergency services, critical infrastructure operators, and insurance providers, creating challenges related to spatial and temporal resolution, uncertainty communication, data formats, and interpretability. In this contribution, we synthesise insights from several ongoing projects to examine how different types of climate information can be tailored to support efficient climate risk assessment and adaptation decision-making.ILMOS Uusimaa project focuses on municipal-scale adaptation, producing high-resolution climate projections, economic impact assessments of adaptation measures, and storyline-based Climate Digital Twin simulations of extreme events to support practical decision-making. These results demonstrate the importance of kilometre-scale data, impact-oriented indicators, and clear narratives when engaging local actors.Sector-specific requirements are further illustrated by projects addressing critical infrastructure and financial risk. MAWECLI and WIND‑IMPACT investigate single and compound weather hazards relevant for nuclear safety and electricity networks, respectively, combining physical and statistical modelling, extreme value analysis, and advanced uncertainty quantification. These projects emphasize the need for rare-event statistics, physically consistent simulations, and explicit treatment of compound and cascading risks. Meanwhile, PIISA focuses on co-developing climate-resilient insurance solutions, where probabilistic risk information, loss data, and comparability across regions and hazards are essential.Finally, the CLAIMS and Climate Digital Twin Storyline analyses of extremes showcase how event-based attribution and counterfactual simulations can make climate change impacts tangible by quantifying how specific events differ between past, present, and warming scenarios. Across all projects, common challenges emerge in balancing resolution and computational cost, integrating uncertainties into decision processes, and translating complex climate data into actionable knowledge. Our synthesis highlights pathways for bridging global climate information with end-user-relevant, locally actionable climate risk assessments.

Ilmaston lämpeneminen vaikuttaa sateisuuteen eri puolilla maapalloa. Suomi sijaitsee alueella, jolla sademäärien odotetaan lämpenemisen myötä kasvavan. Sateisuudella ja sen muutoksilla on vaikutuksia ekosysteemeihin, infrastruktuuriin, ihmisiin ja elinkeinoihin. Sateisuuden muuttuessa monella yhteiskunnan sektorilla tarvitaan sopeutumistoimia, ja näiden suunnitteluun tarvitaan tutkittua tietoa olosuhteiden muutoksista. Tässä raportissa tarkastellaan sateisuuden havaittuja ja arvioituja tulevia muutoksia Suomen eri maakunnissa. Havaintoaineistoina on käytetty asemakohtaisia havaintoja sekä ns. hilamuotoista havaintotietoa. Tulevaisuuden muutosarvioissa on hyödynnetty sekä karkeamman laskentatarkkuuden maailmanlaajuisten ilmastomallien tuloksia että alueellisesti hyvin tarkan erottelukyvyn ilmastomallia. Ilmastomallitulokset perustuvat voimakkuudeltaan keskitasoiseen kasvihuonekaasujen päästöskenaarioon (SSP2-4.5/RCP4.5). Havaintoaineistoista saatujen tulosten mukaan sademäärät ovat kasvaneet tarkastelujaksolla 1961–2023 Suomessa eniten talviaikaan, kun taas syksyllä muutokset ovat olleet pienimpiä. Maakuntatason tarkasteluissa havaittiin, että kahden ilmastollisen vertailukauden, 1961–1990 ja 1991–2020, välillä keskimääräiset vuotuiset sademäärät ovat kasvaneet kaikissa maakunnissa. Talvien sademäärien kasvu näkyy tilastollisesti merkitsevänä kunkin maakunnan alueella ainakin yhdellä havaintoasemalla. Muina vuodenaikoina muutossignaalin voimakkuus vaihtelee eri maakuntien välillä. Rankkasadepäiviä esiintyi havaintojen mukaan eri maakunnissa vuosittain 0–9 kpl. Rankkasadepäivien havaittiin lisääntyneen ainakin yhdellä havaintoasemalla Etelä- ja Keski-Pohjanmaalla, Etelä-Savossa, Keski-Suomessa, Pirkanmaalla, Pohjanmaalla, Pohjois-Karjalassa, Pohjois-Savossa sekä Uudellamaalla. Tulevaisuuden muutosarvioiden mukaan Suomen vuotuisen sademäärän arvioidaan kasvavan vuosisadan puoliväliin mennessä 5–10 %. Samalla kesän rankkasateiden arvioidaan voimistuvan ja yleistyvän suuressa osassa Suomea. Kasvun arvioidaan jatkuvan vuosisadan loppupuolella. Kuitenkin rankkasateiden satunnaisuuden ja pienimittakaavaisuuden takia näihin muutosarvioihin liittyy väistämättä epävarmuutta. Tulokset osoittavat, että Suomessa sadeolosuhteet vaihtelevat huomattavasti vuodesta toiseen, ja vaihtelu myös jatkuu muutoksen suunnasta huolimatta. Kuitenkin sellaiset vuodet, jolloin rankkasadepäiviä ei havaita lainkaan tai talvikuukausien sademäärä on hyvin pieni, muuttuvat ajan myötä entistä harvinaisemmiksi.

ABSTRACT The ongoing climate change alters the snow conditions. This paper evaluates these changes in Northern Europe including Fennoscandia and the Baltic Sea region, based on data from the newest generation of global climate models (Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 6; CMIP6). Thirteen CMIP6 models are selected for the analysis based on the availability of daily snow data and the models' performance in simulating global and Northern European climate and snow conditions in Finland. The analysis focuses on four quantities: the largest daily value of snow water equivalent during the winter SWE max , and the length, start day and end day of the longest continuous snow period. The models project an overall shift towards less snowy conditions with progressing warming: reduced SWE max and shorter snow seasons that start later and end earlier. This is seen already in recent (1951–2023) trends, with largest simulated trends in southern Fennoscandia and in the Baltic countries and smaller trends in the northern inland regions. ERA5‐Land reanalysis data mainly agree with this spatial pattern, although with some notable differences. The decrease of snow continues into the future (2023–2100), with larger trends projected for Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSP) scenarios with larger radiative forcing. Also, larger changes are projected for southern than northern Fennoscandia. For example, for the moderate emission scenario SSP245, snow seasons around 2090 are projected to be nearly 50 days shorter than in 1981–2010 in southern Finland but only 30 days shorter in Finnish Lapland. However, there is substantial quantitative uncertainty in the trends in snow conditions, even for a fixed emission scenario. For example, for SSP245, the one‐sigma uncertainty due to natural variability alone is estimated to be at least 30%–50% of the multi‐model mean trends in 2023–2100 for all snow‐season metrics considered.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to provide procedure -specific estimates of the risk of symptomatic venous thromboembolism and major bleeding in the absence of thromboprophylaxis, following gynecologic cancer surgery. DATA SOURCES: We conducted comprehensive searches on Embase, MEDLINE, Web of Science, and Google Scholar for observational studies. We also reviewed reference lists of eligible studies and review articles. We performed separate searches for randomized trials addressing effects of thromboprophylaxis and conducted a web -based survey on thromboprophylaxis practice. STUDY ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: Observational studies enrolling >50 adult patients undergoing gynecologic cancer surgery procedures reporting absolute incidence for at least 1 of the following were included: symptomatic pulmonary embolism, symptomatic deep vein thrombosis, symptomatic venous thromboembolism, bleeding requiring reintervention (including reexploration and angioembolization), bleeding leading to transfusion, or postoperative hemoglobin <70 g/L. METHODS: Two reviewers independently assessed eligibility, performed data extraction, and evaluated risk of bias of eligible articles. We adjusted the reported estimates for thromboprophylaxis and length of follow-up and used the median value from studies to determine cumulative incidence at 4 weeks postsurgery stratified by patient venous thromboembolism risk factors. The GRADE approach was applied to rate evidence certainty. RESULTS: We included 188 studies (398,167 patients) reporting on 37 gynecologic cancer surgery procedures. The evidence certainty was generally low to very low. Median symptomatic venous thromboembolism risk (in the absence of prophylaxis) was <1% in 13 of 37 (35%) procedures, 1% to 2% in 11 of 37 (30%), and >2.0% in 13 of 37 (35%). The risks of venous thromboembolism varied from 0.1% in low venous thromboembolism risk patients undergoing cervical conization to 33.5% in high venous thromboembolism risk patients undergoing pelvic exenteration. Estimates of bleeding requiring reintervention varied from <0.1% to 1.3%. Median risks of bleeding requiring reintervention were <1% in 22 of 29 (76%) and 1% to 2% in 7 of 29 (24%) procedures. CONCLUSION: Venous thromboembolism reduction with thromboprophylaxis likely outweighs the increase in bleeding requiring reintervention in many gynecologic cancer procedures (eg, open surgery for ovarian cancer and pelvic exenteration). In some procedures (eg, laparoscopic total hysterectomy without lymphadenectomy), thromboembolism and bleeding risks are similar, and decisions depend on individual risk prediction and values and preferences regarding venous thromboembolism and bleeding.

Convective sea‐effect snowfall, in the form of snowbands, is observed over the northern Baltic Sea annually. Quasi‐stationary snowbands may last up to several days over the sea and, depending on the wind direction, move towards the coast. This study provides climatology of spatial and temporal occurrence of snowbands in Finland for a 48‐year period (1973–2020). We used a set of detection criteria together with ERA5 reanalysis at off‐shore areas and FMIClimGrid gridded observational data for on‐shore areas to find the days favouring snowband formation. Only those snowband days (SBD) when snow reached the Finnish coastal mainland were considered. The total annual number of SBDs in Finland varied from 6 to 40 with an average of 16. SBDs were detected most frequently over the Gulf of Bothnia near the western coast of the country. The largest increase in snow depth (SDI) during an SBD (67 cm/day) also took place on the western coast, although the long‐term mean of SDI (3–5 cm/day) was highest over the southern coast. Throughout the country, November and December showed the highest frequency of SBDs. However, between the periods 1973–1996 and 1997–2020, the seasonal cycle of SBDs shifted 1 month forward from late autumn to mid‐winter as the decrease in the number of SBDs during December as well as the increase during January and February were statistically significant in Finland. In northern Baltic Sea, long‐term increases in monthly means of sea surface temperature (SST) and air temperature at the atmospheric level of 850 hPa (T850) were in line with the decadal changes in the occurrence of SBDs. The increasing trend in SST favours the formation of snowbands but in late autumn the probability for snowband formation decreased because even larger increases in T850 resulted in diminishing differences between SST and T850.

Greenhouse gas emissions caused by human activity have already warmed the climate of Earth by more than one degree. Significant changes have been observed e.g. in the intensity of heatwaves and heavy rainfall. Future climate change depends on human emissions, but it is likely that the global mean temperature still rises by another 1–2 degrees by the end of this century. The ongoing global warming is already visible in the climate of the capital region. Many of the observed changes are consistent with what human-caused intensification of the greenhouse effect will bring. During the past 60 years, the average temperatures have risen in all seasons, but the strongest warming has been observed in winter. Precipitation has increased in the winter season, but no statistically significant trends in precipitation can be observed in other seasons. In addition to the average climatic conditions, heatwaves have intensified with a stronger increase in the inland regions than on the coast. In this report, the latest climate change projections based on CMIP6 climate models and SSP greenhouse gas scenarios used in the IPCC's Sixth Assessment Report are presented. According to the moderate SSP2-4.5 emission scenario, the average temperatures are predicted to rise in the capital region by 2.5–3 degrees in all months from the period 1981–2010 by the period 2040–2069. The warming is slightly weaker than in Finland on average, and the changes are somewhat larger in winter than in summer. A milder winter climate results in a further decrease in snow and ice cover. The rising temperatures in summer bring stronger heatwaves, heavy rainfalls and prolonged periods of droughts. There are no clear signs of change in the windiness, and thus winter storms are not predicted to be notably stronger in the future than they are now. Instead, the amount of precipitation induced by winter cyclones increases and comes more often as rain than snow. The sea level is not projected to rise much by the mid-century, but by the end of the century it is estimated to rise by about 25 cm from its current level. Even according to the most optimistic emission scenario, the climate in the capital region would warm by more than one degree by the 2080s. The climate change by the end of the century experienced by future generations is highly dependent on human emissions, and one must be ready to prepare for some degree of change. On the other hand, the climate in the capital region is subject to significant natural variability, and therefore cold periods of weather may occur also in the future.

Finnish Meteorological Institute’s Climate Bulletin Research Letters is a recently established research-based publication that features short and easy-to-read research articles on climate and climate services. The issues are published as a supplement to the Climate Bulletin journal by the Finnish Meteorological Institute. Even though the articles may be short, each one is peer-reviewed and citeable with a unique DOI. Research Letters is published in English once or twice a year. All issues and articles are open access. No publication fees are charged either. The editorial and publication processes have been designed to facilitate swift publication. Couple of weeks review and revision times are imposed. Once approved for publication, an article is instantly published as online and preprint versions. After 7-8 articles have been published this way, they will be collected to a single issue and published online at ISSUU digital publication platform. Research Letters is a publication channel for short reports, results of projects or case studies that may not be suitable for a full-scale peer reviewed publication. It was established to satisfy a clear need for short research publications. The themes of the series revolve around climate, climate services, climate change, marine research and results of research projects. From time to time, theme issues present extreme weather phenomena or maritime themes, among other topics. Special emphasis of the publication is in introducing new climate services and tools for different target groups, such as cities and agricultural, forestry, tourism and energy sectors. Since the first issue in spring 2019, four regular issues and one special issue have been published with 39 articles in total. The first issue has now over 400 reads. It is possible to subscribe to receive email reminders when new issues of the Climate Bulletin (in Finnish with a short summary in English) or Research Letters are published. Subscribers will only receive reminders when new issues are published. Subscription data is not used for advertising or other purposes. Research Letters is available on the Climate Bulletin website: https://www.ilmastokatsaus.fi/category/research-letters/. Climate Bulletin editorial team can be reached via email: ilmastokatsaus@fmi.fi. The editor-in-chief of the Climate Bulletin is Hilppa Gregow, Head of Unit, Finnish Meteorological Institute, hilppa.gregow@fmi.fi.

A natural hazard is a naturally occurring extreme event that has a negative effect on people and society or the environment. Natural hazards may have severe implications for human life and can potentially generate economic losses and damage ecosystems. A better understanding of their major causes, probability of occurrence, and consequences enables society to be better prepared to save human lives as well as to invest in adaptation options. Natural hazards related to climate change are identified as one of the Grand Challenges in the Baltic Sea region. Here, we summarize existing knowledge about extreme events in the Baltic Sea region with a focus on the past 200 years as well as on future climate scenarios. The events considered here are the major hydro-meteorological events in the region and include wind storms, extreme waves, high and low sea levels, ice ridging, heavy precipitation, sea-effect snowfall, river floods, heat waves, ice seasons, and drought. We also address some ecological extremes and the implications of extreme events for society (phytoplankton blooms, forest fires, coastal flooding, offshore infrastructure, and shipping). Significant knowledge gaps are identified, including the response of large-scale atmospheric circulation to climate change and also concerning specific events, for example, the occurrence of marine heat waves and small-scale variability in precipitation. Suggestions for future research include the further development of high-resolution Earth system models and the potential use of methodologies for data analysis (statistical methods and machine learning). With respect to the expected impacts of climate change, changes are expected for sea level, extreme precipitation, heat waves and phytoplankton blooms (increase), and cold spells and severe ice winters (decrease). For some extremes (drying, river flooding, and extreme waves), the change depends on the area and time period studied.

Seasonal snow cover of the Northern Hemisphere (NH) is a major factor in the global climate system, which makes snow cover an important variable in climate models. Previously, substantial uncertainties have been reported in NH snow water equivalent (SWE) estimates. A recent bias-correction method significantly reduces the uncertainty of NH SWE estimation, which enables a more reliable analysis of the climate models' ability to describe the snow cover. We have intercompared NH SWE estimates between CMIP6 (Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6) models and observation-based SWE reference data north of 40∘ N for the period 1982–2014 and analyzed with a regression approach whether model biases in temperature (T) and precipitation (P) could explain the model biases in SWE. We analyzed separately SWE in winter and SWE change rate in spring. For SWE reference data, we used bias-corrected SnowCCI data for non-mountainous regions and the mean of Brown, MERRA-2 and Crocus v7 data for the mountainous regions. The SnowCCI SWE data are based on satellite passive microwave radiometer data and in situ snow depth data. The analysis shows that CMIP6 models tend to overestimate SWE; however, large variability exists between models. In winter, P is the dominant factor causing SWE discrepancies especially in the northern and coastal regions. T contributes to SWE biases mainly in regions, where T is close to 0∘ C in winter. In spring, the importance of T in explaining the snowmelt rate discrepancies increases. This is to be expected, because the increase in T is the main factor that causes snow to melt as spring progresses. Furthermore, it is obvious from the results that biases in T or P cannot explain all model biases either in SWE in winter or in the snowmelt rate in spring. Other factors, such as deficiencies in model parameterizations and possibly biases in the observational datasets, also contribute to SWE discrepancies. In particular, linear regression suggests that when the biases in T and P are eliminated, the models generally overestimate the snowmelt rate in spring.

Convective sea-effect snowfall (snow band) can develop in the Baltic Sea when cold air masses are advected from the mainland over a relatively warm open sea. Snow bands may last for several days over the Baltic Sea and, depending on the wind direction, move towards the Finnish coast. To investigate the spatial and temporal characteristics of snow bands in Finland and statistics of conditions favoring their formation, we used a set of detection criteria together with ERA5 reanalysis at a spatial grid spacing of 0.25° (~31 km) for a 48-year time period (1973–2020). Daily changes in snow depth over land areas were studied from FMIClimGrid gridded observational data. Only snow band cases when snow fell over the Finnish mainland was considered. Based on the ERA5 and FMIClimGrid data, we found on average 16 snow band days (SBD) per year. On average, the accumulated snow depths during SBD were moderate, daily mean varied between 2 cm/day to 5 cm/day in the studied regions along the coast of Finland. The largest daily mean snow accumulation (3.5–5 cm) during SBD was observed over the southern coast, but the largest daily snow depth increase (67 cm in January 2016) in the gridded data set was detected in the western coast of Finland. Neither the annual number of snow band days nor the daily snow accumulation revealed statistically significant changes due to large variations between years. The months of November and December showed the highest frequency of SBD. However, the seasonal cycle of SBD seemed to be shifting one month forward as the decrease in the number of SBD during December as well as the increase during January and February were statistically significant in Finland. The long-term changes in sea surface temperature (SST) and air temperature at atmospheric level of 850 hPa (T850) were in line with the changes in occurrence of SBDs. SST increased in all months during 1973–2020 in northern Baltic Sea. In December, when the decrease in snow band days was largest, also the T850 increased indicating less cold air masses occurring in Finland. So, even with increased SST the temperature difference favoring snow band formation might not reach the minimum threshold (13 °C) to produce snow bands due to too warm air temperatures. On the contrary, during January and February the increased SST together with no changes in T850 could favor the formation of snow bands.

Introduction/Background Pharmacological thromboprophylaxis involves balancing lower risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) against higher risk of bleeding, a trade-off that critically depends on VTE and bleeding risks in the absence of prophylaxis (baseline risk). Baseline risks likely vary between procedures, but their magnitude remains uncertain. At least in part due to uncertainty regarding baseline risks in gynaecological cancer surgery, thromboprophylaxis practices vary substantially within and between countries. Methodology We conducted comprehensive searches on Embase, MEDLINE, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. We identified observational studies reporting symptomatic VTE or major bleeding (bleeding requiring reoperation, bleeding leading to transfusion, or Hb <70g/L) after gynaecological cancer surgery. Furthermore, we performed separate searches for randomised trials addressing effects of thromboprophylaxis and conducted a web-based survey on thromboprophylaxis practice. We adjusted the reported risk estimates for thromboprophylaxis and follow-up length to determine baseline cumulative incidence at 4 weeks post-surgery for each procedure. We stratified VTE risk by patient risk factors as low (no patient risk factors), medium (age >75, BMI >35, or VTE in a 1st degree relative), or high (any combination or personal VTE history). We used the GRADE approach to rate evidence certainty. Results We identified 7,556 titles and abstracts, of which 188 proved eligible, reporting on 37 gynaecological cancer surgery procedures. The quality of evidence was generally very low or low. 4-week risks of major bleeding and especially of VTE varied widely between procedures, and between approaches within the same procedure (tables 1–2). Conclusion Our results suggest that extended thromboprophylaxis is warranted in many gynaecological cancer procedures, such as ovarian cancer surgery, total hysterectomy with lymphadenectomy and radical hysterectomy. In some procedures, such as laparoscopic total hysterectomy without lymphadenectomy, the risks of VTE and bleeding are closely balanced. In these cases, decisions depend on individual risk prediction and patient values and preferences.

More than 80 % of total electricity consumption in Finland is covered by domestic production. While 52 % of the Finnish electricity production in 2020 was based on renewable energy sources, 34 % of electricity was generated with nuclear power. Currently there are five nuclear power plant (NPP) units in the country, two in Loviisa in the south and three in Olkiluoto in the west, all along the seashore. Because of the importance of the NPPs to national electricity production, no external or internal events should hamper their normal operation.As defined by the Finnish Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK), overall safety management over the life cycle of an NPP unit requires, among others, probability estimates for external events triggered by exceptional weather events, such as very high and low atmospheric temperatures, high winds including tornadoes and downbursts, rain, snow, hail, freezing rain, lightning, and drought. The probability estimates are used in the safety assessments of existing and new NPP units and in the design of new safety features.This presentation shows some results from our weather-related studies conducted within the Finnish Research Programme on Nuclear Power Plant Safety (SAFIR2022). A closely related presentation in this session, given by Leijala et al., focuses on sea level research relevant for nuclear safety.Our current topics include the climatology of convective sea-effect snowfall, heavy precipitation jointly with high sea level, large-scale windstorms and derechoes, i.e., clusters of downbursts. Changes in the seasonal cycle of sea-effect snowfall have been studied based on reanalysis data (ERA5) and trends in the frequency of the compound precipitation and sea level events using observational data. In addition, we have examined tracks and clustering of large-scale windstorms based on ERA5 and occurrence of derechoes based on the FMI network of meteorological stations and weather radar data.Even very low annual probabilities of occurrence are of relevance for the NPPs. Therefore, meteorological and climatological research conducted for other applications, including building regulations, land use planning and infrastructure protection, is supportive but typically not sufficient. The topics discussed here have been selected based on feedback from STUK and the Finnish NPP companies. For example, although intense snowfall does not pose a direct threat to the safety systems of the NPPs, it might hamper the normal operation of the support systems and their interface with the environment, e.g., by blocking ventilation air intakes.References:Leijala et al.: Examining extreme sea levels for the support of nuclear power plant safety in Finland.Official Statistics of Finland (OSF): Production of electricity and heat [e-publication].

BACKGROUND:Venous thromboembolism (VTE) and bleeding are serious and potentially fatal complications of surgical procedures. Pharmacological thromboprophylaxis decreases the risk of VTE but increases the risk of major post-operative bleeding. The decision to use pharmacologic prophylaxis therefore represents a trade-off that critically depends on the incidence of VTE and bleeding in the absence of prophylaxis. These baseline risks vary widely between procedures, but their magnitude is uncertain. Systematic reviews addressing baseline risks are scarce, needed, and require innovations in methodology. Indeed, systematic summaries of these baseline risk estimates exist neither in general nor gynecologic surgery. We will fill this knowledge gap by performing a series of systematic reviews and meta-analyses of the procedure-specific and patient risk factor stratified risk estimates in general and gynecologic surgeries.METHODS:We will perform comprehensive literature searches for observational studies in general and gynecologic surgery reporting symptomatic VTE or bleeding estimates. Pairs of methodologically trained reviewers will independently assess the studies for eligibility, evaluate the risk of bias by using an instrument developed for this review, and extract data. We will perform meta-analyses and modeling studies to adjust the reported risk estimates for the use of thromboprophylaxis and length of follow up. We will derive the estimates of risk from the median estimates of studies rated at the lowest risk of bias. The primary outcomes are the risk estimates of symptomatic VTE and major bleeding at 4 weeks post-operatively for each procedure stratified by patient risk factors. We will apply the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach to rate evidence certainty.DISCUSSION:This series of systematic reviews, modeling studies, and meta-analyses will inform clinicians and patients regarding the trade-off between VTE prevention and bleeding in general and gynecologic surgeries. Our work advances the standards in systematic reviews of surgical complications, including assessment of risk of bias, criteria for arriving at the best estimates of risk (including modeling of the timing of events and dealing with suboptimal data reporting), dealing with subgroups at higher and lower risk of bias, and use of the GRADE approach.SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION:PROSPERO CRD42021234119.

The formation of convective sea-effect snowfall (i.e., snow bands) is triggered by cold air outbreaks over a relatively warm and open sea. Snow bands can produce intense snowfall which can last for several days over the sea and potentially move towards the coast depending on wind direction. We defined the meteorological conditions which statistically favor the formation of snow bands over the north-eastern Baltic Sea of the Finnish coastline and investigated the spatio-temporal characteristics of these snow bands. A set of criteria, which have been previously shown to be able to detect the days favoring sea-effect snowfall for Swedish coastal area, were refined for Finland based on four case study simulations, utilizing a convection-permitting numerical weather prediction (NWP) model (HARMONIE-AROME). The main modification of the detection criteria concerned the threshold for 10 m wind speed: the generally assumed threshold value of 10 m s−1 was decreased to 7 m s−1. The refined criteria were then applied to regional climate model (RCA4) data, for an 11-year time period (2000–2010). When only considering cases in Finland with onshore wind direction, we found on average 3 d yr−1 with favorable conditions for coastal sea-effect snowfall. The heaviest convective snowfall events were detected most frequently over the southern coastline. Statistics of the favorable days indicated that the lower 10 m wind speed threshold improved the representation of the frequency of snow bands. For most of the favorable snow band days, the location and order of magnitude of precipitation were closely captured, when compared to gridded observational data for land areas and weather radar reflectivity images. Lightning were observed during one third of the favorable days over the Baltic Sea area.

We studied interannual variability and changes over time in selected climate indices in the reindeer management area (RMA) in northern Finland. We present together the knowledge possessed by reindeer herders with information from meteorological measurements over three decades. The practitioner knowledge was gathered via a survey questionnaire addressing herder observations of long-term changes (approximately during the past 30 years) in climatic conditions and their impacts on herding during the four seasons. A set of temperature-, precipitation- and snow-related indices relevant for herding within the RMA was derived from spatially interpolated daily meteorological data (1981-2010). Climatic changes detected based on the measurement data were mainly consistent with earlier studies, and practitioner knowledge was generally in line with the meteorological data. The herders had experienced the largest number of changes during the winter, and the smallest number of changes during the summer. The herders reported various impacts of changing seasonal weather on reindeer condition and behavior, and on herding practices. Adaptation to the changing conditions requires adoption of various coping strategies by the herders in their everyday work, continuous development of professional techniques and practices, as well as support received from the governance of reindeer management. We conclude that holistic understanding of the impacts of climate change and adaptation to changes in the future requires simultaneous analyses of data from different sources, more research co-defined with local practitioners, and co-planned governance solutions. The approach presented in this work can ease the dialogue between the local practitioners, researchers and policy makers. (C) 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Snow conditions in high‐latitude regions are changing in response to climate warming, and these changes are likely to accelerate as the warming proceeds. Here, we analyse daily gridded snow depth, temperature and precipitation data from Finland over the period 1961–2014 to discover the ongoing changes in monthly average snow depths (SN) and several snow‐related indices. Our results indicate that regional differences of changes in snow conditions can be relatively large, even within such a small district as Finland. Moreover, the interannual variation of the various snow indices was found to be larger in southern Finland than in northern Finland. The largest decrease in snow depth occurred in the southern, western and central parts of Finland in late winter and early spring. This decrease was driven by increasing mixed and liquid precipitation and, especially in spring, increasing temperature. In northern Finland, the decreasing trend of snow depth was most evident in spring, but no change occurred during winter months, although the amount of solid precipitation was found to increase in December–February. In the same months, temperature and the amount of mixed and liquid precipitation increased, likely counteracting the effects of the increasing solid precipitation on snow depth. The annual maximum snow depth that typically occurs in March was found to decrease in over 85% of Finland's area, most strongly in western coastal areas. In almost half of Finland's area, this decrease occurred despite increasing solid precipitation. Our findings highlight the complexity of the responses of snow conditions to climatic variability in northern Europe.

The cumulative impacts of environmental, climatic and societal changes and their consequences will affect the development of the Arctic region in the coming decades. Adaptation to these changes will require measures of all the actors in the region. Finland, part of the Euro-Arctic region, will adapt to these changes in a variety of ways. The Barents area is unique in the Arctic in being a multicultural, relatively densely populated area with well-developed industries and infrastructure. This report examines adaptation to changes and their consequences in the Barents area in terms of governance and Finland’s capacities to adapt. The aim has been to produce comprehensive information from the Finnish perspective for local and national decision-makers about long-term changes in the region, their expected impacts and adaptation options, and to support decision-making that will advance adaptation. The report includes recommendations. This report is based on the contribution of Finnish experts to an Arctic Council and Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) project titled ”Adaptation Actions for a Changing Arctic” (AACA). The project has prepared a pilot report by Nordic and Russian experts on the Barents area in English on changes, their impacts and adaptation options. The report will be published in 2017 (AMAP 2017).