North and Baltic Sea under heat wave: Record temperatures in spring 2023!
North and Baltic Sea under heat wave: Record temperatures in spring 2023!
In spring 2023, the North Sea caused a sensation with record temperatures on the water surface. According to the Federal Office for Sea shipping and hydrography (BSH) it was the warmest spring in 1997. The average temperatures in March, April and May were 8.7 Grade Celsius, which corresponds to 0.9 degrees above the long -term means from 1997 to 2021. This unusual warming not only affects the North Sea, but also shows significant deviations in the Baltic Sea, where the temperatures were also above average at 5 degrees.
It is noteworthy that the surface temperatures between 0.8 and 1.5 degrees were above the long-term average in the German part of the North Sea, which was the fourth to sixth of the spring since 1997. Especially in the eastern North Sea, for example off the Norwegian and Danish coast, temperature deviations of up to 2 degrees were measured. In Kiel, for example, the longest marine heat wave has been experienced since 1989, in which the water temperatures were an average of 2.6 degrees above normal from the end of March to the end of May.storm floods and climate effects
The heating of the oceans not only leads to high temperatures, but also an increased risk of storm surges. So the Yacht of rising storm flood risks on the German North Sea coast, especially from October to April. In the winter of 2021/22, 16 storm surges were registered, which more than three times as many were as on the long -term average. These storm surges often occurred in chains and not only influenced coastal areas, but also large fluids of river in the inland.
An example of a serious storm surge occurred on the night of February 19, 2022 in Hamburg, where the water level was 3.75 meters above the middle flood. Such weather events have increased and worried the meteorologist. The BSH analyzes the surface temperatures every week and warns of extreme flood events via different channels, including telephone, radio and apps.
The role of climate change
The authors of the BSH report on continuous warming of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea as a direct consequence of climate change. Warmer seas that store over 90 percent of excess energy not only affect the sea environment, but also increase extreme weather phenomena. This indicates that warming of marine leads to a change in the weather conditions, which may also affect future heat waves and storm surges. In the southwestern part of the North Sea, there were deviations of up to 1 degree above the long -term average in the summer of 2022, while in the Baltic Sea the surface temperatures also showed an increase of 1.5 degrees and more above average.
The spring 2023 showed us how our climate changes. It remains to be seen how these developments will influence the quality of life in coastal regions and nautical security in the future.
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| Ort | Kiel, Deutschland |
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