The World Meteorological Organization reported that a number of European countries witnessed an unprecedented rise in temperatures during the festive period, compared to weather conditions during the same period in the past.
The organization stated that this unusual height broke records and won the hearts of skiing enthusiasts in a number of countries on the European continent. She pointed out that an increasing number of European ski resorts, which are located in places lower than sea level, were unable to provide sufficient snow cover for visitors under unusual weather conditions.
The organization said, based on scientific information from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate, that the frequency of cold waves and frosts will often decrease. The commission stated that the sharp decline in snow cover, glaciers and the snow period at higher elevations will continue in a warming world.
According to the World Meteorological Organization, temperatures during the first day of the new year rose to more than twenty degrees Celsius in many European countries. Local and national temperature records for December and January were also broken across the continent from southern Spain to eastern and northern Europe.
The organization attributed the wave of high temperatures in Europe to the convergence of a band of high pressure over the Mediterranean region, with a band of low pressure from the Atlantic Ocean. This interaction resulted in an influx of warm air from northwest Africa.
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events, including marine heat waves, have increased over recent decades and are expected to continue to increase.
