The warmest temperature ever measured on December 30 was reported this morning in Belgium, breaking the previous record dating back to 1925.
At 10:20 AM, a temperature of 13.9 degrees Celsius was measured by the Uccle weather station, breaking the last record for 30 December set almost 100 years ago, which was 13.8 degrees, Royal Meteorological Institute (KMI) weather reporter David Dehenauw confirmed on Twitter.
He added that a final result will be published later, as it is possible the temperature will rise even further throughout the day. Other records are expected to be broken in the coming days. The highest temperature ever measured in December remains 16.7 degrees on 16 December 1989.
13,9 in Ukkel voorlopig nieuw dagrecord (oude = 13,8 uit 1925). Later definitief resultaat
— David Dehenauw (@DDehenauw) December 30, 2021
The tweet reads: "13.9 in Uccle provisional new daily record (old = 13.8 from 1925). Final result later."
It has been remarkably mild all week, as a result of a high-pressure area with a core over the Alps which will continue to bring mild air of subtropical origin to Belgium in a southern to south-westerly flow over the next few days, according to KMI.
The air mass is exceptionally warm with highs of 14 to 15 degrees in western Europe and is expected to result in the mercury rising above 20 degrees in the south of Spain and Portugal.
As the temperature has also never exceeded 13.6 degrees on 31 December, it is possible another record will be broken on New Year's Eve, when the average maximum temperature is normally 5.9 degrees.
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The mild temperatures will continue for a few days, but by the end of next week, more normal temperatures for the time of year will return.
While the warmest days on record are being recorded when people expect it to be cold, the opposite was true for the summer months in Belgium this year. The meteorological summer, starting on 1 June and ending on 31 August, was the wettest since measurements began in Uccle in 1833.
Meanwhile, with 121.1 mm of precipitation, October 2021 was the second-wettest October on record. Only October 1998 had more rain with 128.7 mm recorded.
