Did you know 2015 was the second hottest year on record for Europe? The record was set in 2014 with mean annual temperatures.
Image from WMO
2015 was the hottest year on record
Final figures are yet to be released in 2016, but to date 2015 is reportedly the second hottest year on record for Europe.
Eastern Europe saw the hottest temperatures, reaching above the records set in 2014, however Ireland brought the mean figure down with temperatures much lower.
Spain had a particularly warm spring, with very high temperatures above 40 degrees in late spring through to summer.
This heat spread north and east, towards Central Europe. Germany even broke a record for hottest date of the year and Switzerland had it’s second warmest week ever.
The Climate Indicator Bulletin advised that while there may not be a new record reached every year moving forward, “year to year is superimposed on a long-term warming trend”.
Much of Europe also saw above average levels of sunshine in 2015.
