Europe: Winter heat records broken all over continent

• In Ukraine, France, and Germany, station records were broken.
• In eight countries, national records have dropped, and regional records in three more.
• Many European countries have seen their warmest January temperatures ever.

Many European countries have seen their warmest January temperatures ever.

In eight countries, national records have dropped, and regional records in three more.

On Sunday, Warsaw, Poland, recorded 18.9C (66F), while Bilbao, Spain, reached 25.1C, which is more than 10C above usual.

The pleasant European weather comes days after a catastrophic winter cold spell that claimed more than 60 lives in North America.

While severe thunderstorms and tornadoes are predicted for Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana, portions of the northern Midwest are anticipated to see heavy snow and freezing rain.

On the European side of the Atlantic, however, several locations have had warm weather at the start of the year.

National records were set for temperature in the Netherlands, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Latvia, Czech Republic, Poland, Denmark, and Belarus.

In Ukraine, France, and Germany, station records were broken.

Belarus’ record high was 16.4C, which is almost 4.5C over the previous record, and Warsaw’s temperature on January 1 was 4C higher than the previous record for the month.

In Spain, Bilbao’s temperatures on January 1 were comparable to the national average for July, and water use is restricted in some areas of Catalonia, including Barcelona.

Although records are frequently broken, it is uncommon for the difference to be greater than a few tenths of a degree.

Temperatures reached 20C in Switzerland, and the warm weather has caused a snow deficit at ski slopes all over the Alps.

However, not all of Europe is experiencing pleasant weather. Parts of Scandinavia are predicted to have cooler temperatures and snow, and Moscow is predicted to experience a weekend low of -20C.

In the Polish city of Szczecin, cherry blossom season has arrived early due to the warm temperatures.
Only a few days before, 2022 was dubbed the hottest year on record by the UK, Ireland, France, and Spain.

Except for December, every month in the UK was warmer than usual. Although the weather is currently milder and wetter, much of the country had snowfall in December.

Due to human-induced climate change, heatwaves are now more common, more powerful, and stay longer.

However, compared to summer heatwaves, which can cause several excess deaths, winter phenomena like this do not have the same human impact.

Since the start of the industrial age, the world has already warmed by around 1.1C, and temperatures will continue to rise unless governments drastically reduce emissions.

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