2023 is the second warmest year since measurements began
Published: Wednesday, Dec 20th 2023, 13:50
Updated At: Wednesday, Dec 20th 2023, 13:50
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The year 2023 is the second warmest since measurements began. In terms of temperatures, it reached a national average annual temperature of 7.2 degrees. Only 2022 was warmer.
According to the latest calculations up to Tuesday, temperatures this year were 1.4 degrees above the 1991 to 2020 norm, as reported by the Federal Office of Meteorology (MeteoSwiss) on Wednesday.
The annual record of 7.4 degrees was set in 2022 and was 1.5 degrees above the norm, according to MeteoSwiss. The annual temperature in Switzerland has risen by 2.1 degrees from the pre-industrial period 1871 - 1900 to the present day (1994 - 2023), it said.
Sunny fall
The year that is drawing to a close can also boast a sunshine record: thanks to persistently sunny weather in the first half of September and the first half of October, several measurement sites north of the Alps with over 100-year measurement series recorded one of the sunniest autumns since measurements began, the report continued.
With 440 hours of sunshine, Lucerne recorded the sunniest fall on record. According to the report, all previously measured fall values were below 400 hours. According to the press release, Geneva and Neuchâtel registered a new fall record with 481 and 479 hours of sunshine respectively. The previous record for both locations was around 470 hours of sunshine.
The annual total of sunshine duration was between 100 and 110 percent across the board, according to the report.
Lots of precipitation
Precipitation had reached 90 to 120 percent of the norm by 20 December. On the eastern northern slopes of the Alps and in Valais, there were local values above 130 percent of the norm.
According to MeteoSwiss, the mountain village of Elm GL is likely to be among the top 3 in terms of annual precipitation in 2023 (measurements started in 1879). The year in Sion VS is also one of the 10 wettest (start of measurement 1865). Vaduz (FL) recorded the wettest year in the 60-year series of measurements, with around 170 percent of the norm.
Even more rain expected
After the considerable precipitation in parts of central and western Switzerland between December 9 and 13, when there was as much precipitation in some places as in the whole of December, the weather service is expecting further heavy precipitation for the rest of the month. This is expected to fall mainly along the central and eastern northern slopes of the Alps.
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