The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) of the United Nations said Europe is off to a warm start as many national and local temperature records for December and January were broken in several countries, from southern Spain to eastern and northern parts of Europe.
Records broken on December 31, 2022, were those in Dresden-Hosterwitz, Germany with a temperature of 19.4 °C, surpassing the 17.7 °C measured on December 5, 1961, and Prague Klementinum, Czechia which has a temperature 17.7 °C, slightly higher than the 17.4 °C also registered on December 5, 1961.
On New Year’s Day 2023, shattered records were those in Bilbao Aeropuerto, Spain at 25.1°C from the previous high of 24.4 °C on January 1, 2022, Besançon, France at 18.6 °C overtaking the 16.8 °C in Jan 1918, Warszawa – Okęcie, Warsaw, Poland at 18.9 °C way above the 13.8 °C made in January, 1993 and Abed in Lolland, Denmark at 12.6 °C , which is slightly higher than the 12.4°C measured on January 10, 2005.
The WMO attributed the warm spell in Europe to a high-pressure zone over the Mediterranean region which encountered an Atlantic low-pressure system. Their interaction “induced a strong south-west flux that brought warm air from north-western Africa to middle latitudes”, the UN agency explained, adding that this hotter-than-normal air “was further warmed when passing the North Atlantic, due to a higher-than-normal sea surface temperature”. Rising sea surface temperatures is one of the effects of global warming.
With the warm winter, many ski resorts were closed for lack of snow. There’s one good thing though about this weather. The warm winter provided short-term relief to European governments’ tight gas supply and soaring prices. Gas is used for heating during the winter. There was a decline in demand due to milder temperatures.
Warm winter may be good for humans, but not for other creatures. Plants follow a rhythm in consonance with the seasons. When the weather turns haywire, their routine is disrupted as well. They grow and flower prematurely. In the recent warm winter in Europe, Czech Television reported some trees were starting to flower in private gardens.
When plants grow and flower early due to the weather anomaly, there will be no insects to pollinate them. Insects also follow seasonal changes. This disruption in the mutual relationship of plants and insects will affect their reproduction and survival. Animals in hibernation may also come out early.
Is climate change to blame? "Winters are becoming warmer in Europe as a result of global temperatures increasing," said Freja Vamborg, climate scientist at the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service.
Two months ago, WMO released the 2021 Europe State of the Climate Report stating that temperatures over Europe have warmed significantly over the 1991-2021 period, at an average rate of about +0.5 °C per decade, the highest of any continent in the world and more than twice the global average.