The dawn of 2022 has not been a cold, wintry one for Europe. In fact, the parts of the continent set off their warmest-ever start to January this year.
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 on mercury.
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. Country’s weather service tweeted that it had posted its warmest New Year’s eve on record. Prague set a new monthly maximum of 17.7 Celsius temperature.
In what has emerged as a silver lining during current times of climate crisis, 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 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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