January had all-time high temperatures in several European nations. The Netherlands, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Latvia, the Czech Republic, Poland, Belarus, and Denmark all established national records for temperature. Warsaw, Poland, reported a temperature on January 1 that was 4C higher than the previous record for the month. Belarus’ record high temperature was 16.4C, which is about 4.5C over the previous record. On January 1, temperatures in Bilbao, Spain, were similar to the country’s average temperature for July, and water use is limited in some parts of Catalonia, including Barcelona. Temperatures in Switzerland hit 20C, and the warm weather has reduced the amount of snow on the ski slopes around the Alps. Only a few days earlier, the UK, Ireland, France, and Spain declared 2022 to be the hottest year on record.

Human-caused climate change has caused heatwaves to become more common, more powerful, and last longer. However, these heated winter events do not have the same negative effects on individuals as summer heatwaves, which can result in a considerable number of additional deaths. The world has already warmed by about 1.1C since the beginning of the industrial period, and temperatures will continue to rise unless governments greatly cut emissions.