© Twitter screenshot
It must have hardly escaped your notice: Belgium experienced an unusually warm New Year. Already marked by a year symbolized by extreme droughts, Belgium continues to break a slew of records. “The previous daily high dates back to 2021 and was then 14.0 degrees. This record is therefore already shattered now“, explained David Dehenauw on December 31.
The meteorologist had explained in particular that this was due to “southern currents of the subtropical part of the Atlantic Ocean”.
Of course, Belgium is not the only one to experience such unusual weather. Among our French neighbours, December 31 was also the hottest on record. On BFM TV, Patrick Marlière, meteorologist and director of Agate Météo, explained that “more than 120 cities in France broke records”. For example, the city of Biarritz experienced a record with a daily average of 20°C over the day.
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🔺BESANCON (station opened in 1884): 18.6°C (previous record 16.8°C in 1918)
🔺LONS LE SAUNIER (Jura, station opened in 1972): 17.2°C (16.5°C in 2002)
🔺COLMAR-MEYENHEIM (Haut-Rhin, resort opened in 1957): 18.6°C (18.5°C in 1991)— Meteo-France (@meteofrance) January 1, 2023
Also in the Netherlands, expert Kees van der Leun announced records in the city of Utrecht. “Welcome to 2023. It took us less than an hour to experience the hottest January temperature on record here: 15.6⁰C (60.1F), breaking the previous 122-year-old record by 0.5⁰ VS“, he wrote on Twitter.
Welcome to 2023. It took less than an hour for us to experience the warmest January temperature ever recorded here: 15.6⁰C (60.1F), beating the previous high in the 122-year record by 0.5⁰C (0.9F)! pic.twitter.com/8KJYgGGaWA
— Kees van der Leun (@Sustainable2050) January 1, 2023
Same observation in Germany. “The thermometer showed more than 17 degrees in some neighborhoods. It has never been so hot on New Year’s Eve in the capital”, explains the Berliner Zeitung in its edition of the day.
But this weather extends even further than the countries bordering Belgium. “2023 starts strong with massive thermal anomalies of 10 to 20°C this New Year’s Day over a large part of Europe, between northern France and Russia”noted François Jobard.
In Poland, the national meteorological agency announced “a new maximum temperature record for Poland in January and a new winter maximum temperature record for Warsaw”. In the heart of the capital, the mercury therefore rose to 19°.
One #NewYear2023 already historic for the #Poland…
🌡️ With a provisional maximum of 18.7°C in the capital #Warsaw(#Warszawa) this is the highest temperature ever measured in the country for the month of January!
— Guillaume Séchet (@Meteovilles) January 1, 2023
In Scandinavia, on the Danish side, the country’s Meteorological Institute assured that the population would experience record heat for the month of January. “At 4:50 a.m., 12.6 degrees were measured at Abed on Lolland […]the previous record was 12.4 degrees measured on January 10, 2005“, can we read on Twitter.
🌡️2023 starts strong in Europe with massive thermal anomalies of 10 to 20°C this New Year’s Day over a large part of Europe, between northern France and Russia. Poland breaks its January national record with 18.7°C recorded in the middle of the night (!) in Głuchołazy 🇵🇱 #winter2023 pic.twitter.com/SNyvhlf8Aw
— Francois Jobard (@Francois_Jobard) January 1, 2023