The hottest temperature recorded north of the Arctic Circle was witnessed in a Siberian town on Saturday amid a heat wave that is contributing to severe forest fires.

The temperature in Verkhoyansk, the town with the world's widest temperature range, hit 38 degrees Celsius (100.4 F) on Saturday, according to Pogoda i Klimat, a website that compiles Russian meteorological data.

The town is located above the Arctic Circle in the Sakha Republic, about 4,660 kilometers (2,900 miles) northeast of Moscow.

Verkhoyansk, home to about 1,300 residents, is recognized by the Guinness World Records for the most extreme temperature range, with a low of minus 68 degrees C (minus 90 F) and a previous high of 37.2 C (98.96 F). Last November, temperatures plunged to minus 50 degrees C (minus 60 degrees F).

Much of Siberia this year has had unseasonably high temperatures, leading to sizable wildfires.

In the Sakha Republic, more than 275,000 hectares (680,000 acres) are burning, according to Avialesokhrana, the government agency that monitors forest fires.