Exceptionally high temperatures affected large parts of Europe last week, with longstanding records across the central and western regions broken in a number of locations. The abnormally high temperatures developed due to the orientation of high and low pressure across the continent, which helped push very mild air in from the south-west. Although the pressure pattern was not particularly unusual, the temperatures were unprecedented in many places, and scientists are certain that they would not have been achieved without the influence of human-induced climate change.
Temperatures peaked at 18.9C in Warsaw, Poland, on New Year’s Day, smashing the previous record set in 1993 for the month of January by an astonishing 5C. In Bilbao, Spain, 25.1C was recorded, more than 10C above the seasonal average, which is typically around 14C.
Several countries broke all-time national temperature records for the month of January on the 1st, including the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Belarus, Latvia and Lithuania. In the Czech Republic, 19.6C was recorded in Javorník, with 16.9C observed in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. In Belarus, the January temperature record was broken by an increase of 4.5C, with 16.4C reported in Visokaye.
Although the impacts of high temperatures in the winter months are not as severe compared with summer, the ski industry in northern and western parts of the Alps has been badly hit. After a cold and snowy start to the season, the unseasonably high temperatures, lack of snowfall and high altitude rainfall has forced some resorts to close lower slopes over recent days. The higher resorts have managed to keep most slopes open with artificial snow, but this requires significant amounts of water. The recent very mild conditions highlight how the climate crisis is likely to affect an industry that supports thousands of jobs and accounts for about €12bn (£10.6bn) annually to the French economy alone.
Temperatures across Europe have lowered in recent days, but still remain mild or very mild across much of the mainland. They are expected to stay above normal for many western and central parts of Europe for at least the next few weeks. This is in part due to a stronger than normal stratospheric polar vortex. The SPV is a circulation of winds around 50km (30 miles) high, which circles the north pole. A stronger than normal SPV can help to strengthen the jet stream, which often brings milder and wetter weather to northern and western Europe.
