Europe faces climate change heat with warm winters as temperatures break records

The dawn of 2023has not been a cold, wintry one for Europe. In fact, parts of the continent set off their warmest-ever start to January.

Temperatures in Berlin, the German capital, reached 16 degree Celsius on January 1, a January record, national forecaster Deutscher Wetterdienst said on Twitter. In Warsaw, the Polish capital, the mercury surpassed the previous peak by more than 5 degrees as it recorded 19 degree Celsius.

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France saw record winter temperature values such as a high of 24.8 Celsius in Verdun in northeastern France. The country as a whole saw its warmest New Year’s Eve.

The Czech Republic, too, reportedly registered its warmest ever New Year’s eve, the country's weather service tweeted. Prague set a new monthly maximum of 17.7 Celsius.

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In what has emerged as a silver lining, Europe’s winter heat wave has led to a decreased demand for natural gas, easing pressure on the continent’s fragile energy systems and pushing energy prices down amid Russia-Ukraine war.

According to forecaster Maxar Technologies, a total of 75.4 heating-degree days — a measure of the energy needed to heat homes — are expected next week in Europe.

That’s below the 10-year average of 79.9 days. European gas prices fell as much as 6.5 per cent on Tuesday, a day after touching their lowest level since the beginning of Russia-Ukraine war.

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