Monitoring Desk
PARIS: Experts say Europe has seen extreme warm winter weather in last couple of days, with 2023 already recording warm temperatures for January across the region.
As temperatures rise worldwide due to human-caused climate change, scientists are of the view that heatwaves and spells of warmer-than-average weather are becoming more common throughout the year.
After witnessing intense summer heat and a drought unprecedented in centuries, this winter a wave of warm weather across Europe has melted the snow from ski slopes in the Alps and Pyrenees, and experienced temperatures above 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit) even in normally-freezing central regions.
According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) several European states saw record-breaking heat on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day and scores of weather stations across Europe have reported all-time highest daily temperatures for the months of December or January.
Freja Vamborg, Senior Scientist at Europe’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), remarked the current winter heatwave is an extreme heat happening in Europe in terms of how far temperatures have deviated from what is expected at this time of year.
Causes of high temperatures
Freja Vamborg said that on the 1st of January there was solid flow of air from the southwest across the affected area, which would have brought warmer air towards north and penetrated unusually far east, reaching even to Belarus. Negligeable snow cover was very probably another relevant factor.”
He added that the circulation of any given weather situation and climate change are not two isolated things. Climate change itself also has an impact on the circulation, and will also influence how warm those moving air masses are. This is what makes it so multifaceted to disentangle just simply a weather event, from the level to which climate change influenced such an event.
With the rise in global temperatures, heatwaves and warm spells are becoming more frequent and severe, he said adding that Northern Europe has warmed more strongly in winter than in summer, while in the south the warming trend is more deceptive in summer.”
Impact of high winter temperatures
Vamborg said that a couple of things can be stated for warm temperatures during the winter months. While it means less need for heating of housing and other infrastructures, Negligeable snow cover affects the winter tourism industry.
“Possible impacts on natural ecosystems, comprising early return from hibernation, which may have negative impacts if followed by much less mild/freezing circumstances.” He added
