It comes as no surprise and is reflected in numbers and data: according to the preliminary balance, the year 2022 is one of the three warmest years in the history of measurements. Even with the driest and sunniest years since records began, the year coming to an end is back in the top field. Scientists agree that this development is a result of the climate crisis.
“If you take into account the forecast to the end of the year, 2022 in lowland Austria is at least third in the 256-year series of the warmest years in measurement history, comparable to 2019.” said ZAMG climatologist Alexander Orlik. According to the expert, a second place, equal to 2014, is still possible. “2018 is still at the top.”
In the mountains of Austria, 2022 was at least the second warmest year in recorded history (along with 2015). Depending on the current course of the last days of December, a first place is also possible (similar to 2020). At some ZAMG weather stations, 2022 is even the warmest year in the history of measurements. There were new records in Klagenfurt, Kufstein, Lienz and Obergurgl, for example, but also for the Patscherkofel and the Villacher Alpe.
Unusually hot, rarely too cold
As in previous years, phases with unusually high temperatures predominated in 2022 and only a few stretches were significantly too cold.
- On August 5, it was warmest in Seibersdorf in Lower Austria, where 38.7 degrees were measured.
- On December 12, it was the coldest on the Brunnenkogel in Tyrol at 3437 meters, the temperature was minus 24.9 degrees. The cold pole in an inhabited place was St. Jakob im Defereggental in East Tyrol. On December 13, 2022, the temperature there dropped to minus 21 degrees Celsius.
Year of records, even with drought
The year 2022 was also largely too dry. In the Austrian-wide evaluation, the amount of precipitation this year is 15 percent below the long-term average. 2022 is one of the 15 driest years in measurement history. At some ZAMG weather stations, 2022 is even the driest year since measurements began, for example in Eisenstadt. On the other side of Austria there was an increase in precipitation: for Bregenz, for example, there was an increase of nine percent.
The year 2022 was sun-drenched in the west and south of the country. Especially in Vorarlberg, in the Tyrolean Unterland, in East Tyrol and in the Carinthian areas along and south of the Drau, the sun shone five to fifteen percent longer than the climate average of 1991-2020. On average, the sun shone six percent longer across Austria, making 2022 the eighth sunniest of the past 98 years.
More sunshine
An exceptionally sunny month in 2022 was March, with an area average deviation of 53 percent. The months of January, February, June, July, October and November were also sunnier than average and 9 to 17 percent sunnier. In September there was significantly less sun with minus 23 percent and in December where the sun is probably minus 30 percent.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
