Abnormal heat in Europe: 2023 begins with temperatures that are too high
In several European countries, New Year’s Eve 2023 was the hottest day on record in January, with temperatures up to twenty degrees above normal. A mass of mobile warm air from the African continent moved towards western and central Europe.
Serbia
Zlatibor in western Serbia is usually a busy ski resort. But tourists who come to ski will be disappointed. In fact, temperatures are too high throughout the country. On December 30th and 31st and January 1st the thermometer went up to 18 degrees in Belgrade, a temperature never recorded before during the winter.
bosnia
Bosnia and Herzegovina hosted the Winter Olympics in 1984. Today, however, the ski slopes are dry. The exceptionally high temperatures prompted the authorities to consider declaring a natural state of emergency.
In a ski resort on the Vlašić mountain in central Bosnia, tourists prepare their ski equipment… But no trace of snow on the ground. “It would have been better if there had been snow,” explains Erik Stemberger, who traveled to Vlašić from Slovenia to celebrate the New Year.
Hotel owners are in trouble. “Right now we should welcome skiers to our mountain, but we have no snow, so there is no doubt that our business is at risk,” says Dino Korugic, director of the Sunce Hotel in Vlašić.
Austria
Maximum temperatures today were 12 degrees in southern Austria. These hot temperatures have a negative impact on nature, agriculture and human health.
“These changes influence our hormonal metabolism, resulting in complaints such as migraines, cardiovascular problems, sleep disturbances and tiredness,” explains Dr. Andrea Dungl-Zauner.
In a forest in southern Austria, trees are already budding. Nature adapts to high temperatures, with the risk that the flora and fauna will be defenseless in the event of a late frost.
“It is important that it is cold in winter, for the survival of some winter parasites essential for the ecosystem and for trees not to be disturbed in their resting phase,” explains the director of the Institute of Forest Sciences of the University of Natural Resources of Vienna, Hubert Hasenauer.
European winter has never been so warm. But according to experts, this warmth won’t last. In fact, currents of icy arctic air are expected starting from 8 January.