The year 2023 started with a new temperature record: In Delémont (JU) the thermometer reached 20.9 degrees. This is the highest temperature ever measured in one day in January north of the Alps.
As the weather service Meteonews announced on Sunday, this maximum value was 19.4 degrees, measured on January 12, 1993 in Lucerne. At the Swiss level, the January record is 24 degrees. It was recorded at the Locarno-Monti and Lugano train stations in Ticino.
In the rest of western Switzerland, the mercury did not rise as high. According to MeteoSwiss, it reached 16.6 degrees in Geneva, 15.5 degrees in Lausanne (Pully) and 14.4 degrees in Fribourg.
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Many records
It was also hot on New Year’s Day in the St. Gallen Rhine Valley and in Liechtenstein: the thermometer showed up to 20 degrees in Vaduz and 18.5 degrees in Bad Ragaz. These are new highs for a January day at these stations.
Further temperature records for a month of January were recorded in Altdorf in the canton of Uri, where the thermometer reached 19.2 degrees on Sunday afternoon. The previous record was 18.5 degrees. January records were set at a dozen measuring stations, for example in Zurich-Affoltern (previously 16.3 degrees – 16 degrees).
Similar to New Year’s Eve, it was cooler south of the Alps. According to the MeteoSwiss weather service, the thermometer in Lugano reached a maximum of ten degrees during the day.
Masses of warm air from Florida
The fact that it is currently so hot in Western Europe is due to air masses that originate in the subtropical Atlantic off the US state of Florida. According to SRF Meteo, this phenomenon had already occurred last year.
Not only the warm air masses, but also the strong southwest winds caused high temperatures, also at night. Thanks to these winds, the warm air masses were also mixed in the lower air layers. On New Year’s Eve, the weather services had already announced new temperature records in Switzerland.
With these mild temperatures, nature panics, some trees sprout and daisies invade the gardens.
>> The interview in the forum by Jean-Pierre Masclet, arborist:
The tree sector risks suffering from the mild winter: interview with Jean-Pierre Masclet / Forum / 6 min. / today at 18:02
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