Europe brings in New Year amid unseasonably warm temperatures
Madrid, Jan 2 (EFE).- Several countries in Europe registered record-breaking high temperatures for the start of the year, as New Year celebrations were held in unusually warm weather.
France saw its highest temperatures for December 31 and January 1 since 1947, with a nationwide average of 14C, while in neighboring Belgium, the warmest ever New Year’s Eve was recorded with 16.2C registered in the capital Brussels, beating the record set just a year ago.
Switzerland also recorded the highest temperatures for this time of year in over 170 years, with thermometers reaching 21C in Delemont, 16.7 in Basel and 15.1 in Zurich on Saturday.
The weather is forecast to remain mild for the next week.
“The warmth of the air mass caused sometimes unprecedented temperatures for the month of January,” the French national meteorology service said on Sunday.
Experts say these exceptional highs are linked to the consequences of climate change after a year that Météo-France has described as “exceptionally warm, dry and sunny.”
Temperatures for the first day of January 2023 also broke records for several areas across Spain, with new highs recorded at several observatories, especially in the Cantabria region, at Bilbao Airport, which saw 25.1C, and Foronda-Txokiza, with 19.7 degrees.
The Castilian plateau also saw unprecedented highs for January 1, with Valladolid recording 18C while thermometers showed 10.3C in Segovia.
According to the Aemet, 2022 was the warmest year in Spain since records began.EFE
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