The year 2023 got off to a record-mild start. With temperatures between 9 and 14 degrees, a particularly warm week is ahead. Remarkable, because January is known as a dark and cold month. Will it remain this mild in the coming weeks, or will we be able to get the skates out again soon?
Monday morning saw a temperature of 13 degrees. “That’s warm for this time of year,” said Rico Schroeder, meteorologist at Weerplaza. “Normally in January it averages 0.9 degrees at night and 6 degrees during the day. Anything above that temperature is exceptional,” said the meteorologist.
Exceptionally mild weather for winter
While many people think of January as a cold month with frozen canals and packs of snow, in practice this is quite disappointing. With an average temperature of 6 degrees, January does not have many frosty days. About four days of frost is normal in the first month of the year. But according to Schroeder, it remains to be seen whether that will happen at all this month.
“We are now mainly looking at the next ten days. Those are still exceptionally mild for now”, Schroeder says. “Wednesday we will even book another record. It is expected to reach 13 degrees then. Just for comparison, that temperature is normal for the second half of April.”
Winter is not over yet
So it seems we need to get used to milder winters. The climate in January has become 1.6 degrees warmer since the middle of last century. Last year was also milder than average, according to Schroeder.
But making long-term predictions remains very difficult. “It could just get colder again at the end of January”, Schroeder says hopefully. “And also in February it could still freeze. Winter is not over yet”.
Blooming earlier
As a result of these spring temperatures, hay fever may flare up again. “Nature thinks spring is coming and starts preparing for it”, Schroeder says. Trees such as hazel and alder may start blooming earlier. That can cause sneezing. “But if it gets cold again this month, that process will be halted again”.
Source: Omroepbrabant.nl
Translated by: Anitha Sevugan
