London, Europe Brief News – Europe is witnessing its second-warmest winter on record as climate change continues to intensify.
The average temperature in Europe from December to February was 1.4 degrees Celsius (2.8 degrees Fahrenheit) above the 1991-2020 average for the Boreal winter season, according to data published by the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S).
That ranks as Europe’s second warmest winter on record, exceeded only by the winter of 2019-20.
Europe experienced a severe winter heatwave in late December and early January, when record-high temperatures hit countries from France to Hungary, forcing ski resorts to close because of a lack of snow.
The European Commission said on January 2 hundreds of temperature records were broken across the continent, including the Swiss town of Altdorf reaching 19.2C (66.5F), smashing a record standing since 1864.
C3S said temperatures were particularly high in the north of Nordic countries. While overall temperatures in Europe were above the norm, some regions were below average, including parts of Russia and Greenland.
Scientists say Europe’s winters are becoming warmer as a result of rising global temperatures because of human-caused climate change.
The unusually mild winter offered some short-term relief to governments struggling with high gas prices after Russia slashed fuel deliveries to Europe last year, with higher temperatures curbing gas demand for heating in many countries.
