With only a few days left, the Norwegian Meteorological Institute can state that 2020 is the warmest year measured in Norway since the measurements started 120 years ago.
According to the Meteorological Institute, the year has so far had an average temperature that is around 2.5 degrees above normal.
The normal is calculated as the average over the 30 years from 1961 to 1990.
“As the figures show, 2020 has been a very hot year. That is especially true for the winter season. Unfortunately, it is not surprising that we see new heat records,” climate researcher Hans Olav Hygen said.
The previous record was set in 2014 with an average of 2.2 degrees above normal.
“Warm winter and mild autumn”
“Many people probably did not experience the summer as particularly hot. What makes the year record hot is the warm winter and the mild autumn,” Hygen added.
The winter months of December, January, and February combined were as much as 4.5 degrees warmer than normal.
The fact that a single year is particularly hot is not necessarily due to climate change, but the probability that we experience record warm years increases alongside climate change.
Globally speaking, 2020 is set to be one of the warmest years on record despite the fact that the natural weather phenomenon La Niña, which has a cooling effect on global temperature, has developed in the latter part of the year.
Final measurements for 2020 are expected in early January.
© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today
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