Final month was the most popular March on file in Europe, new knowledge has discovered – surpassing the typical by some margin.
And that raises the danger, for now, of wildfires this summer season, campaigners have warned.
The common air temperature throughout the continent was a major 2.41C above the current common for March (1991-2020), based on new figures from the EU’s Copernicus Local weather Change Service.
That determine could not sound like a lot, however as it’s a median determine, it smooths out the extremes, which means it’s going to have been a lot greater in some locations.
Japanese Europe and southwest Russia specifically noticed the mercury soar.
A warmth map launched alongside the information paints most of Europe in darkish orange and purple to indicate simply how excessive the warmth was above common.
Picture:
Maps present how a lot hotter than common Europe was in March (R), and the way a lot rainfall assorted throughout the continent (L). Pic: Copernicus/ECMWF
Final week the UK’s Met Workplace discovered England had its sunniest March on information going again to 1920.
The overall of 185.8 hours of sunshine smashed the earlier file from 1929 by greater than 14 hours. The excellent sizzling and dry circumstances fuelled a number of wildfires by drying out vegetation and bushes.
And this week temperatures of above 20C (68F) are set to return, following the most popular day of the yr up to now on Friday.
However on the subject of rainfall, March was a month of two extremes in Europe, Copernicus discovered.
It was drier than common within the UK and Eire, and in an enormous space from central Europe to Greece and Turkey – proven in darkish brown on a second map that illustrates moist versus dry circumstances.
Not so over Spain and Portugal, the place a sequence of storms introduced widespread floods, forcing some from their properties however refilling reservoirs parched in final yr’s drought.
Picture:
View of the Sau reservoir, about 100 km (62 miles) north of Barcelona, in Vilanova de Sau, Spain, on Monday, 24 March, 2025. Pic: AP
Whereas some components of Europe had their driest March on file, elsewhere it was the wettest in at the least the previous 47 years.
Samantha Burgess from the European Centre for Medium-Vary Climate Forecasts, which runs Copernicus, stated the brand new knowledge is “highlighting once again how temperatures are continuing to break records”.
United Nations scientists say it’s “unequivocal” that people are warming the planet, which drives up common temperatures in addition to excessive heatwaves.
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Hottest January on file shocks scientists
That is as a result of actions like burning fossil fuels launch greenhouse gases that entice warmth across the Earth.
“As early spring weather starts to feel more and more like summer, Europe is potentially on track to face ever harsher heat waves and wildfires later in the year.
“The previous month’s contrasting rainfall extremes throughout the European area alone pose a direct problem to our meals programs and to the financial system as a complete.
“Europe’s citizens must not be left alone to pay for the chaos that dirty energy companies are fuelling.”
She referred to as for brand new taxes on oil majors to assist communities address local weather disasters.
