A rainy country, Denmark has not seen any rainfall for more than two weeks, unheard of for 17 years according to the meteorological agency, which suggests a visible effect of climate change.
Much of Scandinavia is experiencing an unusually dry late spring, increasing the chances of wildfires starting, in Sweden too.
The month of May in Denmark has already been the driest in the last fifteen years and the days to come are still expected to be without rain, according to the Danish authorities.
“If we don’t record precipitation today, we will have had fifteen consecutive days without precipitation. This is the longest period without precipitation on record since January 1, 2006,” the national meteorological institute DMI said in a statement. statement to AFP.
Located in a temperate zone in northern Europe, the Scandinavian country rarely experiences long periods without rainfall.
For the DMI, “it would appear that the lengthening of periods without precipitation is linked to climate change, but this is an area in which research continues”.
On Tuesday, risk management agency Beredskabstyrelsen announced that May 2023 was Denmark’s driest in fifteen years.
Rainfall is expected to be low to non-existent in the coming weeks, authorities say, leading to an increased risk of wildfires.
“In recent weeks, municipal emergency services have responded to a greater number of fires than in previous years,” noted the risk management agency.
In 2007 and 2008 already, 14 consecutive days without precipitation had been recorded. In 1992, only one millimeter of rain was recorded in June.
In Sweden, where it rained four times less than the seasonal norm in May, the fire risk is considered “high” or “very high” in much of the south and center of the country.
There is no sign of rain for the next ten days, according to the national weather agency SMHI, which compares the conditions of 2023 to those of 2018, marked by a very unusual number of forest fires.
07/06/2023 17:29:45 – Copenhagen (AFP) – © 2023 AFP